Method for managing service in network function virtualization architecture, and apparatus

ABSTRACT

This application provides a method for managing a service in an NFV architecture, and an apparatus. The method includes: generating, by a first network element after receiving a network function virtualization NFV resource change notification sent by a virtualized infrastructure manager VIM, first constraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware; and sending, by the first network element, a first notification message to the VIM, where the first notification message carries the first constraint information, and the first constraint information is used by the VIM to modify NFVI software and/or hardware based on the first constraint information.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of International Application No.PCT/CN2018/113816, filed on Nov. 2, 2018, which claims priority toChinese Patent Application No. 201711073113.4, filed on Nov. 3, 2017,The disclosures of the aforementioned applications are herebyincorporated by reference in their entireties.

TECHNICAL FIELD

This application relates to the field of network functionvirtualization, and in particular, to a method for managing a service ina network function virtualization NFV architecture, and an apparatus.

BACKGROUND

To cope with future competition and challenges and avoid beingchannelized, operators accommodate current technology development trendssuch as virtualization and cloud computing and propose a new networkfunction virtualization (NFV) standard architecture.

In the NFV, common hardware and virtualization technologies such as X86are used, so that a function of a network device no longer relies ondedicated hardware. In this way, resources can be shared sufficientlyand flexibly, new services are rapidly developed and deployed, andautomatic deployment, flexible scale-out, fault isolation andself-healing, and the like are performed depending on an actual servicerequirement.

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (EuropeanTelecommunications Standards Institute, ETSI) sets up an NFV IndustrySpecification Group (industry standard group, ISG) in October, 2012, todefine network function virtualization requirements of the operators andrelated technical reports, so that some network functions areimplemented on a common high performance server, a switch, and storageby using IT virtualization technologies. The NFV architecture and abasic procedure that are specified by the NFV Industry SpecificationGroup have been used as standards in the industry, and are implementedin various telecommunications cloudification projects. A final objectiveof the NFV is to replace private and dedicated network element devicesin a communications network with an X86 server, and a storage andswitching device that are based on the industry standard. This requiresthat a network function should be implemented by software, run on commonserver hardware, and should be migrated, instantiated, and deployed atdifferent locations of a network depending on requirements, without aneed to install a new device. In the NFV, an IT device based on the X86standard has low costs, so that huge investment costs can be reduced forthe operators. In addition, an open API interface of the IT device canhelp the operators obtain more flexible network capabilities, to changenetwork operations.

In the NFV architecture, a virtualized network function (virtualizednetwork function, VNF) is introduced, so that an architecture of aconventional network and a conventional network node greatly changes. Ina new telecommunications architecture, the conventional network node isevolved into a virtual node, and is present in a form of a virtualmachine, so that a plurality of conventional network nodes are deployedon a same physical host machine, share a hardware resource, and evenshare a resource with other third-party application software. Inaddition, for ease of dynamic migration of a virtual machine andenhancement of communication performance between virtual machines in asame virtualizer, a conventional IP network is evolved into a virtualnetwork by using a virtual switch and a virtual network adapter, andvirtual machines directly communicate with each other by using thevirtual network, thereby bypassing a conventional physical networkdevice. In the NFV, a function of the network device no longer relies ondedicated hardware through software and hardware decoupling and functionabstraction, resources can be shared sufficiently and flexibly, newservices are rapidly developed and deployed, and capabilities of anapplication such as automatic deployment, flexible scale-out, and faultisolation and self-healing are performed depending on an actual servicerequirement.

However, when an underlying physical network device resource changes(for example, needs to be upgraded, repaired, or maintained), someupper-layer services are affected. However, services in thetelecommunications field usually have relatively high requirements forreliability. For example, an annual outage time of a service needs to beless than five minutes, or annual availability of a service needs tosatisfy a requirement of 99.999%. Therefore, it is required that relatedsoftware upgrade or resource modification in the NFV architecture shouldnot interrupt a service.

Therefore, when an underlying physical resource changes, how to ensurenormal running of a service becomes a problem to be resolved urgently.

SUMMARY

This application provides a method for managing a service in a networkfunction virtualization architecture, and an apparatus, so as to ensurenormal running of a service when an underlying physical resourcechanges.

According to a first aspect, a service management method is provided.The method is applied to a network function virtualization NFVarchitecture and includes: determining, by a first network element, anobject affected by a change of a network function virtualization NFVresource, where the object affected by the change of the NFV resource isa virtualized network function VNF instance, a virtualized networkfunction component VNFC instance, or a network service NS instanceassociated with the virtualized network function VNF instance, and theNFV resource includes at least one of the following resources: a virtualcomputing resource, a virtual storage resource, and a virtual networkresource; and sending, by the first network element to a second networkelement, a first notification message used to indicate NFV resourcemaintenance, where the first notification message carries identificationinformation of the object affected by the change of the NFV resource, sothat the second network element manages a service in the object affectedby the change of the NFV resource.

Specifically, when the NFV resource needs to change, a VIM sends, to thefirst network element, a notification message used to indicate that theNFV resource is to change. The notification message carries informationabout a virtual resource affected by the change of the NFV resource, andthe information about the virtual resource may include an identifier ofthe virtual resource affected by the change of the NFV resource. Afterobtaining the virtual resource affected by the change of the NFVresource, the first network element determines, based on data stored inthe first network element, the object corresponding to the affectedvirtual resource, namely, the object affected by the change of the NFVresource. Then, the first network element sends, to the second networkelement, the first notification message used to indicate NFV resourcemaintenance, so that the second network element manages the service inthe object affected by the change of the NFV resource.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when the NFV resourceis to change, the first network element reports the first notificationmessage to the second network element, and the second network elementmanages the service in the object affected by the change of the NFVresource, to avoid impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice, and ensure normal running of the service.

Optionally, the first notification message may further carry a firstresource change identifier, where the first resource change identifieris used to indicate a number of the to-be-changed NFV resource.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, after obtaining the first notification message, the secondnetwork element may send a resource request message to the first networkelement, where the resource request message is used to request to createa virtual resource that is not affected by the change of the NFVresource. After obtaining the resource request message, the firstnetwork element may send a resource request to the VIM, to apply for thevirtual resource that is not affected by the change of the NFV resource.After completing creation of the virtual resource that is not affectedby the change of the NFV resource, the VIM sends a creation completionmessage to the first network element. Then, the first network elementsends resource indication information to the second network element,where the resource indication information indicates the virtual resourcethat is not affected by the change of the NFV resource. Finally, thesecond network element migrates the service in the object affected bythe change of the NFV resource to the virtual resource that is notaffected by the change of the NFV resource.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the service in theobject affected by the change of the NFV resource is migrated to thevirtual resource that is not affected by the change of the NFV resource,to avoid impact made by the change of the NFV resource on the service,ensure normal running of the service, and improve user experience.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, before the sending, by the first network element to a secondnetwork element, a first notification message used to indicate a changeof an NFV resource, the method further includes:

receiving, by the first network element, a first request message that isused to subscribe to an NFV resource maintenance notification and thatis sent by the second network element, where the first request messageis used to request the first network element to send the firstnotification message when the NFV resource is to change.

In other words, the second network element first sends, to the firstnetwork element, the first request message used to subscribe to an NFVresource change notification; and after obtaining the NFV resourcechange notification sent by the VIM, the first network elementdetermines the object affected by the change of the network functionvirtualization NFV resource, and then sends the first notificationmessage to the second network element.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the first request message carries identification information ofa first object set, and the first object set includes at least one ofthe following objects: a virtualized network function VNF instance, avirtualized network function component VNFC instance, and a networkservice NS instance associated with the virtualized network function VNFinstance; and

the sending, by the first network element to a second network element, afirst notification message used to indicate NFV resource maintenanceincludes: when the first network element determines that the objectaffected by the change of the NFV resource belongs to the first objectset, sending, by the first network element to the second networkelement, the first notification message used to indicate NFV resourcemaintenance.

It should be understood that a quantity of objects in the first objectset or a type of an object in the first object set is not limited inthis embodiment of this application, and the first object set mayinclude one or more of a VNF, an NS, or a VNFC. This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto. The first object set may besystem-preset, or may be selected by the second network element from aplurality of objects based on importance of a service. For example, thefirst object set includes an object running a highly-reliable service.Optionally, the first object set may alternatively include all objectsin the NFV architecture. In this case, the first network element may notneed to perform determining, and the first network element needs tonotify the second network element provided that an NFV resource is tochange. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

For example, the object in the first object set is an object running ahighly-reliable service, and the service in the object is not allowed tobe interrupted. To ensure normal running of the service in the firstobject set, the second network element may first register with the firstnetwork element by using the first request message, to subscribe to theNFV resource maintenance notification. The first request message carriesan identifier of the first object set. In other words, the secondnetwork element requests the first network element to notify the secondnetwork element once a change of an NFV resource affects the object inthe first object set, that is, the first network element needs to sendthe first notification message. Further, the second network element mayperform corresponding service management, to ensure normal running ofthe service.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the first request message further carries an additionalparameter, and the additional parameter includes at least one of thefollowing parameters: event information indicating that the NFV resourceis to change, an attribute of the to-be-changed NFV resource, and a timethat needs to be reserved for processing due to the change of the NFVresource; and

the attribute of the to-be-changed NFV resource indicates that theto-be-changed NFV resource is a virtual computing resource, a virtualstorage resource, or a virtual network resource, and the eventinformation indicating that the NFV resource is to change includes atleast one piece of the following information: NFVI software upgrade,NFVI hardware repair, and NFVI hardware maintenance; and the firstnotification message further includes at least one type of parameter inthe additional parameter to which the second network element subscribesand that is corresponding to the to-be-changed NFV resource.

Specifically, when the NFV resource needs to change, the VIM sends, tothe first network element, the notification message used to indicatethat the NFV resource is to change. The notification message carries theinformation about the virtual resource affected by the change of the NFVresource, and the information about the virtual resource may include theidentifier of the virtual resource affected by the change of the NFVresource, the event information indicating that the NFV resource is tochange, and the attribute of the to-be-changed NFV resource. Afterobtaining the information about the virtual resource affected by thechange of the NFV resource, the first network element may determine,based on data stored in the first network element, the objectcorresponding to the affected virtual resource, namely, the objectaffected by the change of the NFV resource. Then, the first networkelement may determine whether the affected object belongs to the firstobject set. When the affected object belongs to the first object set,the first network element sends, to the second network element, thefirst notification message used to indicate NFV resource maintenance,where the first notification message may include information such as theidentification information of the affected object, the event informationindicating that the NFV resource is to change, and the attribute of theto-be-changed NFV resource, so that the second network element managesthe service in the object affected by the change of the NFV resource.

Therefore, at least one type of parameter in the additional parameter isadded to the first notification message, so that the second networkelement can determine, based on the parameter, that a type of thenotification message is a resource change notification message, and canfurther distinguish the notification message from another notificationmessage.

The foregoing describes a solution that when the NFV resource is tochange, the second network element applies for the resource that is notaffected by the change of the NFV resource, and migrates the service inthe object affected by the change of the NFV resource to the virtualresource that is not affected by the change of the NFV resource.Alternatively, in this embodiment of this application, there may be noneed to apply for the resource that is not affected by the change of theNFV resource. Instead, the second network element sends a policyindication used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, to avoid impactmade on the service.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, after the sending, by the first network element to a secondnetwork element, a first notification message used to indicate a changeof an NFV resource, the method further includes: sending, by the firstnetwork element to the virtualized infrastructure manager VIM, a secondrequest message used to request to modify NFVI software and/or hardware,where the second request message carries first constraint informationused to modify NFVI software and/or hardware.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the first notification message further carries a number of theto-be-changed NFV resource, and the first constraint informationincludes a second change identifier of an NFV resource;

the NFV resource includes at least one NFV resource group, the NFVresource group includes at least one basic NFV resource unit, the basicNFV resource unit is a basic unit for virtual computing, a basic unitfor virtual storage, or a basic unit for virtual communication, thesecond change identifier of the NFV resource is corresponding to thenumber that is of the to-be-changed NFV resource and that is carried inthe first notification message, and the NFV resource includes theto-be-changed NFV resource; and

the first constraint information further includes at least one piece ofthe following information: an identifier of the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource,an identifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in an NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the NFV resource includes a virtual computing resource, and thebasic unit for virtual computing is a virtual computing container; orthe NFV resource includes a virtual storage resource, and the basic unitfor virtual storage is a virtual storage container; or the NFV resourceincludes a virtual communication resource, and the basic unit forvirtual communication is a virtual link VL.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, before the sending, by the first network element to the VIM, asecond request message used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, themethod further includes:

receiving, by the first network element, a policy indication messagethat is used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware and that is sent bythe second network element, where the policy indication message carriessecond constraint information used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware, and the first constraint information is generated by the firstnetwork element by converting the second constraint information.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the second networkelement sends, to the first network element, the policy indicationmessage carrying the second constraint used to modify NFVI softwareand/or hardware. Further, the first network element determines, based onthe second constraint information in the policy indication message, anobject (for example, a VNF, a VNFC, or an NS) corresponding to thesecond constraint information, and determines the first constraintinformation based on a virtual resource corresponding to the object.Then, the first network element sends the first constraint informationto the VIM by using the second request message, and further, the VIMmodifies the NFV resource software or hardware based on the firstconstraint information, to avoid impact made on the service.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the first notification message further carries the number of theto-be-changed NFV resource; the second constraint information includes afirst change identifier of an NFV resource and at least one of thefollowing parameters: an identifier of an NS instance, an identifier ofat least one VNF instance in the NS instance, an identifier of at leastone group of VNFC instance in the at least one VNF instance, anidentifier of at least one VNFC instance in the at least one group ofVNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone group of VNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinity rule betweenthe VNFC instance in each of the at least one group of VNFC instance, aminimum quantity of VNFC instances that need to be reserved in eachgroup of VNFC instance in the NFVI software and/or hardware modificationprocess, a condition for constraining migration of a VNFC instance, anidentifier of at least one group of virtual link VL, an identifier of atleast one virtual link VL in the at least one group of virtual link VL,an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at least one group ofvirtual link VL, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the virtuallink VL in the at least one group of virtual link VL, and a minimumquantity of virtual links VLs that need to be reserved in each of the atleast one group of virtual link VL in the NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process; and

the first change identifier of the NFV resource is corresponding to thenumber that is of the to-be-changed NFV resource and that is carried inthe first notification message, and the object affected by the change ofthe NFV resource belongs to the NS instance, the at least one VNFinstance in the NS instance, or the at least one group of VNFC instancein the at least one VNF instance.

With reference to the first aspect, in some implementations of the firstaspect, the first network element is an NFV orchestrator NFVO, and thesecond network element is an operations support system OSS; or the firstnetwork element is a VNF manager VNFM, and the second network element isan element management system EM.

According to a second aspect, a service management method is provided.The method is applied to a network function virtualization NFVarchitecture and includes:

receiving, by a second network element, a first notification messagethat is used to indicate network function virtualization infrastructureNFV resource maintenance and that is sent by a first network element,where the first notification message carries identification informationof an object affected by a change of an NFV resource, the objectaffected by the change of the NFV resource is a virtualized networkfunction VNF instance, a virtualized network function component VNFCinstance, or a network service NS instance associated with thevirtualized network function VNF instance, and the NFV resource includesat least one of the following resources: a virtual computing resource, avirtual storage resource, and a virtual network resource; and

managing, by the second network element, a service in the objectaffected by the change of the NFV resource.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when the NFV resourceis to change, the first network element reports the first notificationmessage to the second network element, and the second network elementmanages the service in the object affected by the change of the NFVresource, to avoid impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice, ensure normal running of the service, and improve userexperience.

It should be understood that the service management method described inthe second aspect from a perspective of the second network element iscorresponding to the service management method described in the firstaspect from a perspective of the first network element. Specifically,for features and effects in the second aspect, refer to the descriptionsin the first aspect. To avoid repetition, details are not describedherein again.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, before the receiving, by a second network element, afirst notification message that is used to indicate network functionvirtualization NFV resource maintenance and that is sent by a firstnetwork element, the method further includes: sending, by the secondnetwork element to the first network element, a first request messageused to subscribe to an NFV resource maintenance notification, where thefirst request message is used to request the first network element tosend the first notification message when the NFV resource is to change.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, the first request message carries identificationinformation of a first object set, and the first object set includes atleast one of the following objects: a virtualized network function VNFinstance, a virtualized network function component VNFC instance, and anetwork service NS instance associated with the virtualized networkfunction VNF instance; and

the object affected by the change of the NFV resource belongs to thefirst object set.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, the first request message further carries an additionalparameter, the additional parameter includes at least one of thefollowing parameters: event information indicating that the NFV resourceis to change, an attribute of the to-be-changed NFV resource, and a timethat needs to be reserved for processing due to the change of the NFVresource, the attribute of the to-be-changed NFV resource indicates thatthe to-be-changed NFV resource is a virtual computing resource, avirtual storage resource, or a virtual network resource, the eventinformation indicating that the NFV resource is to change includes atleast one piece of the following information: NFVI software upgrade,NFVI hardware repair, and NFVI hardware maintenance, and the firstnotification message further includes at least one type of parameter inthe additional parameter to which the second network element subscribesand that is corresponding to the to-be-changed NFV resource.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, the managing, by the second network element, a service inthe object affected by the change of the NFV resource includes: sending,by the second network element to the first network element, a policyindication message used to request to modify NFVI software and/orhardware, where the policy indication message carries second constraintinformation used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, and the firstconstraint information is generated by the first network element byconverting the second constraint.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect,

the first notification message further carries a number of theto-be-changed NFV resource; the second constraint information includes afirst change identifier of an NFV resource and at least one of thefollowing parameters: an identifier of an NS instance, an identifier ofat least one VNF instance in the NS instance, an identifier of at leastone group of VNFC instance in the at least one VNF instance, anidentifier of at least one VNFC instance in the at least one group ofVNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone group of VNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinity rule betweenthe VNFC instance in each of the at least one group of VNFC instance, aminimum quantity of VNFC instances that need to be reserved in eachgroup of VNFC instance in an NFVI software and/or hardware modificationprocess, a condition for constraining migration of the VNFC, anidentifier of at least one group of virtual link VL, an identifier of atleast one virtual link VL in the at least one group of virtual link VL,an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at least one group ofvirtual link VL, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the virtuallink VL in the at least one group of virtual link VL, and a minimumquantity of virtual links VLs that need to be reserved in each of the atleast one group of virtual link VL in the NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process; and

the first change identifier of the NFV resource is corresponding to thenumber that is of the to-be-changed NFV resource and that is carried inthe first notification message, and the object affected by the change ofthe NFV resource belongs to the NS instance, the at least one VNFinstance in the NS instance, or the at least one group of VNFC instancein the at least one VNF instance.

With reference to the second aspect, in some implementations of thesecond aspect, the first network element is an NFV orchestrator NFVO,and the second network element is an operations support system OSS; orthe first network element is a VNF manager VNFM, and the second networkelement is an element management system EM.

According to a third aspect, a service management method is provided.The method is applied to a network function virtualization NFVarchitecture and includes: generating, by a first network element afterreceiving a network function virtualization NFV resource changenotification sent by a virtualized infrastructure manager VIM, firstconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware; andsending, by the first network element, a first notification message tothe VIM, where the first notification message carries the firstconstraint information, and the first constraint information is used bythe VIM to modify NFVI software and/or hardware based on the firstconstraint information.

Specifically, when an NFV resource needs to change, the first networkelement receives a notification message indicating that the NFV resourceis to change. For example, when the NFV resource needs to change, theVIM sends the resource change notification message, where thenotification message indicates that the NFV resource needs to change.Then, the first network element may generate the first constraintinformation used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, and send thefirst constraint information to the VIM by using the first notificationmessage; and further, the VIM may modify the NFVI software and/orhardware based on the first constraint information.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, the first network element sends, to the VIM, theconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, toavoid a problem that a service is affected because the VIM directlymigrates the service. In this way, in this embodiment of thisapplication, impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice is avoided, a highly-reliable service is not interrupted when anNFVI changes, normal running of the service is ensured, and userexperience is improved.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, before the sending, by the first network element, a firstnotification message to the VIM, the method further includes: receiving,by the first network element, a first subscription request message sentby the VIM, where the first subscription request message is used tosubscribe to constraint information used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware; and sending, by the first network element, a reply message tothe VIM, where the reply message is used to indicate that the VIMsuccessfully subscribes to the constraint information.

Specifically, the VIM first sends the subscription request message tothe first network element, to register and subscribe to the constraintinformation used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware. Afterobtaining and receiving the notification message indicating that the NFVresource is to change, the first network element generates, based on thesubscription of the VIM, the first constraint information used to modifyNFVI software and/or hardware, and sends the first constraintinformation to the VIM by using the first notification message; andfurther, the VIM may modify the NFVI software and/or hardware based onthe first constraint information.

It should be understood that in the foregoing description of thisembodiment of this application, information is first subscribed to byusing the subscription request message, and then the first networkelement sends the first notification message only after obtaining theNFV resource change notification. This manner can satisfy a stipulationin an existing standard, that is, a requirement that a notification issent after subscription can satisfy a procedure in the existingstandard. Optionally, in this embodiment of this application, the VIMmay not send the subscription request message, and the first networkelement may send the first notification message to the VIM afterobtaining the NFV resource change notification. Although this mannerdoes not satisfy the standard procedure, in this case, signalingoverheads between network elements can be reduced and system performancecan be improved. This embodiment of this application is not limitedthereto.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, the first constraint information includes a change identifier ofan NFV resource; the NFV resource includes at least one NFV resourcegroup, the NFV resource group includes at least one basic NFV resourceunit, the basic NFV resource unit is a basic unit for virtual computing,a basic unit for virtual storage, or a basic unit for virtualcommunication, the change identifier of the NFV resource iscorresponding to a number that is of a to-be-changed NFV resource andthat is carried in the NFV resource change notification sent by the VIM,and the NFV resource includes the to-be-changed NFV resource; and

the first constraint information further includes at least one piece ofthe following information: an identifier of the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource,an identifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in an NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, the NFV resource includes a virtual computing resource, and thebasic NFV resource unit is a virtual computing container; or the NFVresource includes a virtual storage resource, and the basic NFV resourceunit is a virtual storage container; or the NFV resource includes avirtual communication resource, and the basic NFV resource unit is avirtual link VL.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, the generating, by a first network element after receiving anetwork function virtualization infrastructure NFV resource changenotification sent by a virtualized infrastructure manager VIM, firstconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardwareincludes: after receiving the NFV resource change notification sent bythe VIM, querying, by the first network element, for real-time runningstatus data of a virtualized network function VNF, and generating secondconstraint information based on a virtualized network functiondescriptor VNFD; and converting, by the first network element, thesecond constraint information into the first constraint information.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, the second constraint information includes at least one of thefollowing parameters: an identifier of at least one VNF instance, anidentifier of at least one group of VNFC instance in the at least oneVNF instance, an identifier of at least one VNFC instance in the atleast one group of VNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinity rulebetween the at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the VNFC instance in each of the at least onegroup of VNFC instance, a minimum quantity of VNFC instances that needto be reserved in each group of VNFC instance in an NFV resourcesoftware or hardware modification process, an identifier of at least onegroup of virtual link VL, an identifier of at least one virtual link VLin the at least one group of virtual link VL, an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the at least one group of virtual link VL, anaffinity or anti-affinity rule between the virtual link VL in the atleast one group of virtual link VL, a minimum quantity of virtual linksVLs that need to be reserved in each of the at least one group ofvirtual link VL in the NFV resource software or hardware modificationprocess, and a condition for constraining migration of the VNFC;

the generating second constraint information based on a virtualizednetwork function descriptor VNFD includes:

generating, by the first network element, the second constraintinformation by using a VNF life cycle management script carried in theVNFD; and

the converting, by the first network element, the second constraintinformation into the first constraint information includes:

converting, by the first network element, the second constraint into thefirst constraint information based on a correspondence between a VNFinstance and an NFV resource.

For example, the first network element obtains, from a VNF softwarepackage, an applet that can generate the second constraint information,where the applet can generate, by querying a database of the VNFinstance, an NFVI software and/or hardware modification policy (namely,the second constraint information). The first network element generatesthe second constraint information by using the applet, and then convertsthe second constraint information into the first constraint information.

For example, a VNF software vendor makes the applet, and adds the appletto the VNF software package for publishing. The applet can implement thefollowing function: calculating and obtaining the NFVI software and/orhardware modification policy (corresponding to the second constraintinformation) by querying for real-time running status data of a VNF.When delivering a VNF instantiation request to the first networkelement, the second network element adds the VNF life cycle managementscript (script) or a VNF monitoring indicator to the VNFD specified bythe request message. When receiving an event indicating that the NFVresource is to change due to software or hardware or daily maintenance,the first network element triggers execution of the VNF life cyclemanagement script (script), and the VNF life cycle management script(script) triggers the VNFM to execute the applet for the policy orconstraint used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, to generate thesecond constraint information through calculation, and convert thesecond constraint information into the first constraint information.

With reference to the third aspect, in some implementations of the thirdaspect, the first network element is an NFV orchestrator NFVO, and theNFV resource change notification is received by the NFVO directly byusing the VIM; or the first network element is a VNF manager VNFM, andthe NFV resource change notification is received by the VNFM directly byusing the VIM, or the NFV resource change notification is received bythe VNFM indirectly by using an NFVO.

According to a fourth aspect, a service management method is provided.The method is applied to a network function virtualization NFVarchitecture and includes: receiving, by a virtualized infrastructuremanager VIM, a first notification message sent by a first networkelement, where the first notification message carries first constraintinformation used to modify network function virtualizationinfrastructure NFVI software and/or hardware; and modifying, by the VIM,NFVI software and/or hardware based on the first constraint information.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, the first network element sends, to the VIM, theconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, toavoid a problem that a service is affected because the VIM directlymigrates the service. In this way, in this embodiment of thisapplication, impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice is avoided, a highly-reliable service is not interrupted when anNFVI changes, normal running of the service is ensured, and userexperience is improved.

It should be understood that the service management method described inthe fourth aspect from a perspective of the VIM is corresponding to theservice management method described in the third aspect from aperspective of the first network element. Specifically, for features andeffects in the fourth aspect from the perspective of the VIM, refer tothe descriptions in the first aspect. To avoid repetition, details arenot described herein again.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of thefourth aspect, before the receiving, by a VIM, a first notificationmessage sent by a first network element, the method further includes:sending, by the VIM, a first subscription request message to the firstnetwork element, where the first subscription request message is used tosubscribe to constraint information used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware; and receiving, by the VIM, a reply message sent by the firstnetwork element, where the reply message is used to indicate that theVIM successfully subscribes to the constraint information.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of thefourth aspect, the first constraint information includes a changeidentifier of an NFV resource;

the NFV resource includes at least one NFV resource group, the NFVresource group includes at least one basic NFV resource unit, the basicNFV resource unit is a basic unit for virtual computing, a basic unitfor virtual storage, or a basic unit for virtual communication, thechange identifier is corresponding to a number carried in the NFVresource change notification sent by the VIM, and the NFV resourceincludes a to-be-changed NFV resource; and

the first constraint information further includes at least one piece ofthe following information: an identifier of the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource,an identifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in an NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of thefourth aspect, the NFV resource includes a virtual computing resource,and correspondingly the basic unit for virtual computing is a virtualcomputing container; or the NFV resource includes a virtual storageresource, and correspondingly the basic unit for virtual storage is avirtual storage container; or the NFV resource includes a virtualcommunication resource, and correspondingly the basic unit for virtualcommunication is a virtual link VL.

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of thefourth aspect, the modifying, by the VIM, NFVI software and/or hardwarebased on the first constraint information includes: performing, by theVIM, an operation of terminating a to-be-changed NFV resource (in thisapplication, “changed” specifically means “to be changed”), andmodifying NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to the terminatedNFV resource. For an action of terminating, by the VIM, theto-be-changed NFV resource, refer to a procedure in an existingstandard, for example, refer to 7.3.1.5, 7.4.1.5, and 7.5.1.5 in ETSI GSNFV-IFA 005 V2.1.1 (2016-04) that respectively describe termination of avirtual computing resource, a virtual network resource, and a virtualstorage resource. Termination herein may be understood as release of abinding relationship between the NFV resource and a user, and theterminated NFV resource cannot provide a service. The “modifying NFVIsoftware and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resource”may be upgrade, deletion, adding, and the like of the software and/orhardware. For example, when the NFV resource is a virtual storageresource, corresponding NFVI software may be virtualization software,and modifying software may be upgrading the virtualization software.Corresponding NFVI hardware may be a hard disk or a flash memory, andmodifying hardware may be modification such as adding a hard disk or aflash memory.

In another implementation, the performing, by the VIM, an operation ofterminating a to-be-changed NFV resource includes: S1: terminating oneor more basic NFV resource units in the to-be-changed NFV resource,where a quantity of remaining basic NFV resource units after the one ormore basic NFV resource units in the to-be-changed NFV resource areterminated cannot be less than a predetermined minimum quantity; S2:removing the terminated NFV resource from a resource pool managed by theVIM, that is, removing an internal management object (internalmanagement objects) corresponding to the terminated NFV resource. For aspecific method for performing the “termination” action, refer todescriptions in the standard.

In another implementation, after learning that a service associated withthe terminated to-be-changed NFV resource has been restored to a new NFVresource, the VIM performs the actions in S1 and S2, and modifies theNFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFVresource. The process is repeated, so that all to-be-changed NFVresources are terminated, modification of NFVI software and/or hardwarecorresponding to the terminated NFV resources is completed, and servicesassociated with the terminated to-be-changed NFV resources are restoredto new NFV resources.

For example, it is assumed that a user uses 10 basic NFV resource unitsrespectively numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . , and 10, and there are fourto-be-changed basic NFV resource units respectively numbered 1, 2, 3,and 4. It is assumed that a predetermined minimum quantity is 8. In thiscase, step S1 may be first performed to terminate one or two basic NFVresource units (because a quantity of remaining basic NFV resource unitsafter termination cannot be less than 8), for example, terminate twobasic NFV resource units in this embodiment. Then, a removal operationin S2 is performed (to be specific, the two basic NFV resource units areremoved from the resource pool managed by the VIM). Next, NFVI softwareand/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resource are/ismodified, so that the modified NFVI software and/or hardware can be usedas a new NFV resource subsequently.

In addition, after the termination action in S1 and the removal actionin S2 are performed, an EM may apply to the VIM for a new NFV resourceby using a VNFM, and allocate the new NFV resource to a VNF; and the VNFrestores, to the applied-for NFV resource, a part or all of a serviceassociated with the terminated NFV resource (in other words, the serviceon the terminated NFV resource is restored to the applied-for new NFVresource). In this embodiment, two new NFV resources respectivelynumbered 11 and 12 may be applied for (certainly, more or fewer NFVresources may alternatively be applied for), and then, a part or all ofservices associated with the NFV resources numbered 1 and 2 may berestored to the NFV resources numbered 11 and 12.

In this application, the VIM monitors a running status of the VNF, andperforms the termination operation in S1 and the removal operation in S2after learning that the VNF restores the service. Specifically, becausethere are four to-be-changed basic NFV resource units, two basic NFVresource units need to be terminated subsequently. In this case, theforegoing process may be repeated. For example, basic NFV resource unitsnumbered 3 and 4 are terminated and removed. Then, services associatedwith the basic NFV resource units numbered 3 and 4 are restored to a newNFV resource (namely, a basic NFV resource unit, for example, theservices are restored to a new basic NFV resource unit numbered 13), andthen NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFVresources are/is modified.

Termination performed in this way can avoid, to a greatest extent,impact made on a service. To be specific, in a process of upgrading abasic NFV resource unit, some basic NFV resource units can still provideservice support (for example, basic NFV resource units numbered 1 and 2are terminated first, and basic NFV resource units numbered 3 to 10 canstill provide service support).

With reference to the fourth aspect, in some implementations of thefourth aspect, the first network element is an NFV orchestrator NFVO, orthe first network element is a VNF manager VNFM.

According to a fifth aspect, a first network element is provided. Thefirst network element includes modules or units configured to performthe method in the first aspect or any possible implementation of thefirst aspect.

According to a sixth aspect, a second network element is provided. Thesecond network element includes modules or units configured to performthe method in the second aspect or any possible implementation of thesecond aspect.

According to a seventh aspect, a first network element is provided. Thefirst network element includes modules or units configured to performthe method in the third aspect or any possible implementation of thefirst aspect.

According to an eighth aspect, a VIM is provided. The VIM includesmodules or units configured to perform the method in the fourth aspector any possible implementation of the fourth aspect.

According to a ninth aspect, a first network element is provided,including a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The processor isconfigured to control the transceiver to receive and transmit signals,the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processoris configured to invoke the computer program from the memory and run thecomputer program, so that the first network element performs the methodin the first aspect and the possible implementations of the firstaspect.

According to a tenth aspect, a second network element is provided,including a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The processor isconfigured to control the transceiver to receive and transmit signals,the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processoris configured to invoke the computer program from the memory and run thecomputer program, so that the second network element performs the methodin the second aspect and the possible implementations of the secondaspect.

According to an eleventh aspect, a first network element is provided,including a transceiver, a processor, and a memory. The processor isconfigured to control the transceiver to receive and transmit signals,the memory is configured to store a computer program, and the processoris configured to invoke the computer program from the memory and run thecomputer program, so that the first network element performs the methodin the third aspect and the possible implementations of the thirdaspect.

According to a twelfth aspect, a VIM is provided, including atransceiver, a processor, and a memory. The processor is configured tocontrol the transceiver to receive and transmit signals, the memory isconfigured to store a computer program, and the processor is configuredto invoke the computer program from the memory and run the computerprogram, so that the VIM performs the method in the fourth aspect andthe possible implementations of the fourth aspect.

In a possible design, a solution implemented by the first networkelement may be implemented by a chip.

In a possible design, a solution implemented by the second networkelement may be implemented by a chip.

In a possible design, a solution implemented by the VIM may beimplemented by a chip.

According to a thirteenth aspect, a computer program product isprovided. The computer program product includes a computer program (alsoreferred to as code or an instruction), and when the computer programruns, a computer is enabled to perform the methods in the first aspectto the fourth aspect and any possible implementation of the first aspectto the fourth aspect.

According to a fourteenth aspect, a computer-readable medium isprovided. The computer-readable medium stores a computer program (alsoreferred to as code or an instruction), and when the computer programruns on a computer, the computer is enabled to perform the methods inthe first aspect to the fourth aspect and any possible implementation ofthe first aspect to the fourth aspect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a schematic architectural diagram of an NFV system accordingto an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 2 is a flowchart of a service management method according to anembodiment of this application;

FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are a flowchart of a service management methodaccording to another embodiment of this application;

FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B are a flowchart of a service management methodaccording to another embodiment of this application;

FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are a flowchart of a service management methodaccording to another embodiment of this application;

FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B are a flowchart of a service management methodaccording to another embodiment of this application;

FIG. 7 is a flowchart of a service management method according toanother embodiment of this application;

FIG. 8 is a flowchart of a service management method according toanother embodiment of this application;

FIG. 9 is a flowchart of a service management method according toanother embodiment of this application;

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a first network elementaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a second network elementaccording to an embodiment of this application;

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a first network elementaccording to another embodiment of this application;

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a VIM according to an embodimentof this application;

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram of a first network elementaccording to another embodiment of this application;

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of a second network elementaccording to another embodiment of this application;

FIG. 16 is a schematic block diagram of a first network elementaccording to another embodiment of this application;

FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram of a VIM according to anotherembodiment of this application; and

FIG. 18 is a schematic block diagram of an NFV system according to anembodiment of this application.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following describes technical solutions of this application withreference to accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic architectural diagram of an NFV system accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in FIG. 1, areference NFV architecture includes several main function components asfollows.

An NFV infrastructure (NFV infrastructure, NFVI) provides virtualizedresources needed for supporting execution of NFV, including commercialoff the shelf (commercial off the shelf, COTS) hardware, a necessaryaccelerator component, and a software layer for virtualizing andabstracting underlying hardware.

For example, the NFVI may include a hardware resource layerincorporating computing hardware, storage hardware, and networkhardware, a virtualization layer, and a virtual resource layerincorporating virtual computing (for example, a virtual machine),virtual storage, and a virtual network.

A virtualized network function (virtual network function, VNF) can beimplemented on network function (network function, NF) software thatruns on the NFVI, and an element management system (element managementsystem, EMS or EM) may be attached to understand and manage a separateVNF and a characteristic thereof. The VNF is equivalent to a networknode entity, and is expected to be delivered as software only,independent of hardware.

NFV management and orchestration (management and orchestration, M&O orMANO) includes orchestration, life cycle management of a physical and/orsoftware resource supporting infrastructure virtualization, and lifecycle management of the VNF. The NFV M&O focuses on avirtualization-specific management task in the NFV architecture. The NFVM&O also interacts with an operations support system (operations supportsystem, OSS)/business support system (business support system, BSS)(outside the NFV), so that the NFV can be integrated into an existingnetwork-wide management scenario.

The foregoing components interact with each other by using a definedreference point, so that different entities can be clearly decoupled, toform an open and innovative NFV ecosystem. A reference point between theVNF and the NFVI (and a reference point between entities inside theNFVI) processes resource abstraction and virtualization, and in-hostrunning of the VNF; therefore, the VNF can be migrated from one entityto another in the NFVI, and it is possible to select differentunderlying hardware. A reference point between the NFV M&O and the VNFand a reference point between the NFV M&O and the NFVI (and a referencepoint between entities inside the NFV M&O) process management andoperation of the NFV system. A design manner of a related componentallows reuse of an existing solution (for example, a cloud managementsystem), and the related component interacts with an existing OSS/BSSenvironment to which the NFV system needs to be connected.

The following function components are further defined in the NFV M&O:

An NFV orchestrator (NFV orchestrator, NFVO) is mainly responsible forlife cycle management of an NS to complete a network serviceorchestration function, and NFV resource orchestration in a plurality ofVIMs to complete a resource orchestration function.

A VNF manager (VNF manager, VNFM) is responsible for life cyclemanagement of a VNF instance. It is assumed that each VNF has oneassociated VNFM, and one VNFM may be designated to manage a single VNFinstance or manage a plurality of same or different VNF instances. Anavailable capability of the VNFM includes VNF instantiation, configuringan NFV resource for the VNF, VNF instance update, VNF instancescale-out, NFVI performance measurement and event collection related toa VNF instance, VNF instance—related event association, VNF instanceassistance or self-healing, VNF instance termination, integritymanagement of a VNF instance throughout a life cycle of the VNFinstance, playing a global coordination and adaption role inconfiguration and event reporting between the NFVI and the EMS, and thelike.

A virtualized infrastructure manager (virtualized infrastructuremanager, VIM) is responsible for control and management of computing,storage, and network resources of the NFVI, and is usually deployedwithin an infrastructure subdomain of an operator. One VIM may speciallyprocess a particular type of NFV resource or may manage a plurality oftypes of NFV resources. An available capability of the VIM includesorchestrating allocation/upgrade/deallocation/recycling of an NFVresource, managing association between a virtualized resource andcomputing, storage, and network resources, managing directories ofhardware resources (computing, storage, and a network) and a softwareresource (for example, a management program), collecting and forwardingperformance measurement and an event of a virtualized resource, and thelike.

In the system architecture shown in FIG. 1, when an underlying NFVresource is to change, some upper-layer (for example, a VNF) servicesare affected.

In a solution, when an underlying NFV resource is to change, the VIMdirectly performs live migration on a virtual machine VM. However, inthis manner, because live migration of the VM is directly performedwithout considering an upper-layer service, the service is affected andeven interrupted, and user experience is affected.

In this embodiment of this application, when the NFV resource is tochange, a first network element (for example, an NFVO or a VNFM) reportsa resource change notification message to a second network element (forexample, an OSS or an EM), and the second network element may performservice migration after obtaining the notification message, so that aservice is not interrupted, impact made by a change of the NFV resourceon the service is avoided, and user experience can be improved.

The following describes in detail a service management method in theembodiments of this application with reference to specific embodiments.

It should be understood that in the embodiments of this application, aterm “network element” represents a function component in the NFVarchitecture. For example, the network element may be an NFVO, an OSS, aVNF, a VNFM, or an EM. The “network element” may also be referred to asa “function component”, a “device”, an “apparatus”, or the like. Thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

FIG. 2 is a schematic flowchart of a service management method accordingto an embodiment of the present invention. The method in FIG. 2 may beapplicable to an NFV system 100 shown in FIG. 1, and a method 200 shownin FIG. 2 includes the following steps.

210. A first network element determines an object affected by a changeof a network function virtualization NFV resource.

Specifically, the object affected by the change of the NFV resource is avirtualized network function VNF instance, a virtualized networkfunction component VNFC instance, or a network service NS instanceassociated with the virtualized network function VNF instance. The NFVresource includes at least one of the following resources: a virtualcomputing resource, a virtual storage resource, and a virtual networkresource.

220. The first network element sends, to a second network element, afirst notification message used to indicate NFV resource maintenance,where the first notification message carries identification informationof the object affected by the change of the NFV resource, so that thesecond network element manages a service in the object affected by thechange of the NFV resource.

230. The second network element manages the service in the objectaffected by the change of the NFV resource.

Specifically, when the NFV resource needs to change, a VIM sends, to thefirst network element, a notification message used to indicate that theNFV resource is to change. The notification message carries informationabout a virtual resource affected by the change of the NFV resource, andthe information about the virtual resource may include an identifier ofthe virtual resource affected by the change of the NFV resource. Afterobtaining the virtual resource affected by the change of the NFVresource, the first network element determines, based on data stored inthe first network element, the object corresponding to the affectedvirtual resource, namely, the object affected by the change of the NFVresource. Then, the first network element sends, to the second networkelement, the first notification message used to indicate NFV resourcemaintenance, so that the second network element manages the service inthe object affected by the change of the NFV resource.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when the NFV resourceis to change, the first network element reports the first notificationmessage to the second network element, and the second network elementmanages the service in the object affected by the change of the NFVresource, to avoid impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice, ensure normal running of the service, and improve userexperience.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first network element is an NFVorchestrator NFVO, and the second network element is an operationssupport system OSS; or the first network element is a VNF manager VNFM,and the second network element is an element management system EM.

Optionally, the first notification message may further carry a number ofthe to-be-changed NFV resource.

In this embodiment of this application, a currently to-be-changed NFVresource may be numbered (or a current NFVI is identified) by using thenumber of the to-be-changed NF resource, so that when network elementssend messages to each other, the number of the to-be-changed resourcemay be added or an identifier corresponding to the number of theto-be-changed resource may be added, and a network element receiving amessage distinguishes the to-be-changed resource from anotherto-be-changed NFV resource based on the number of the to-be-changedresource.

Optionally, in another embodiment, in step 230, after obtaining thefirst notification message, the second network element may send aresource request message to the first network element, where theresource request message is used to request to create a virtual resourcethat is not affected by the change of the NFV resource. After obtainingthe resource request message, the first network element may send aresource request to the VIM, to apply for the virtual resource that isnot affected by the change of the NFV resource. After completingcreation of the virtual resource that is not affected by the change ofthe NFV resource, the VIM sends a creation completion message to thefirst network element. Then, the first network element sends resourceindication information to the second network element, where the resourceindication information indicates the virtual resource that is notaffected by the change of the NFV resource. Finally, the second networkelement migrates the service in the object affected by the change of theNFV resource to the virtual resource that is not affected by the changeof the NFV resource.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the service in theobject affected by the change of the NFV resource is migrated to thevirtual resource that is not affected by the change of the NFV resource,to avoid impact made by the change of the NFV resource on the service,ensure normal running of the service, and improve user experience.

Optionally, in another embodiment, before step 210, the method 200 mayfurther include:

sending, by the second network element to the first network element, afirst request message used to subscribe to an NFV resource changenotification, where the first request message is used to request thefirst network element to send the first notification message when theNFV resource is to change.

In other words, the second network element first sends, to the firstnetwork element, the first request message used to subscribe to the NFVresource change notification; and after obtaining the NFV resourcechange notification sent by the VIM, the first network elementdetermines the object affected by the change of the network functionvirtualization NFV resource, and then sends the first notificationmessage to the second network element.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first request message carriesidentification information of a first object set, and the first objectset includes at least one of the following objects: a virtualizednetwork function VNF instance, a virtualized network function componentVNFC instance, and a network service NS instance associated with thevirtualized network function VNF instance.

In step 220, when the first network element determines that the objectaffected by the change of the NFV resource belongs to the first objectset, the first network element sends, to the second network element, thefirst notification message used to indicate NFV resource maintenance.

It should be understood that a quantity of objects in the first objectset or a type of an object in the first object set is not limited inthis embodiment of this application, and the first object set mayinclude one or more of a VNF, an NS, or a VNFC. This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto. The first object set may besystem-preset, or may be selected by the second network element from aplurality of objects based on importance of a service. For example, thefirst object set includes an object running a highly-reliable service.Optionally, the first object set may alternatively include all objectsin an NFV architecture. In this case, the first network element may notneed to perform determining, and the first network element needs tonotify the second network element provided that an NFV resource is tochange. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

For example, the object in the first object set is an object running ahighly-reliable service, and the service in the object is not allowed tobe interrupted. To ensure normal running of the service in the firstobject set, the second network element may first register with the firstnetwork element by using the first request message, to subscribe to anNFV resource maintenance notification. The first request message carriesan identifier of the first object set. In other words, the secondnetwork element requests the first network element to notify the secondnetwork element once a change of an NFV resource affects the object inthe first object set, that is, the first network element needs to sendthe first notification message. Further, the second network element mayperform corresponding service management, to ensure normal running ofthe service.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the first request message may furthercarry an additional parameter, and the additional parameter includes atleast one of the following parameters: event information indicating thatthe NFV resource is to change, an attribute of the to-be-changed NFVresource, and a time that needs to be reserved for processing due to thechange of the NFV resource. The attribute of the to-be-changed NFVresource indicates that the to-be-changed NFV resource is a virtualcomputing resource, a virtual storage resource, or a virtual networkresource, and the event information indicating that the NFV resource isto change includes at least one piece of the following information: NFVIsoftware upgrade, NFVI hardware repair, and NFVI hardware maintenance.The first notification message may further include at least one type ofparameter in the additional parameter to which the second networkelement subscribes and that is corresponding to the to-be-changed NFVresource.

Therefore, at least one type of parameter in the additional parameter isadded to the first notification message, so that the second networkelement can determine, based on the parameter, that a type of thenotification message is a resource change notification message, and canfurther distinguish the notification message from another notificationmessage.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the additional parameter and theidentification information of the first object set are carried in afilter in the first request message.

Specifically, the first request message carries the filter, and thefilter carries the identification information of the first object set.Optionally, the filter may further carry the additional parameter. Itshould be understood that in this embodiment of this application, addinginformation to the filter may represent that corresponding informationis packaged for sending. This embodiment of this application is notlimited thereto.

Specifically, when the NFV resource needs to change, the VIM sends, tothe first network element, the notification message used to indicatethat the NFV resource is to change. The notification message carries theinformation about the virtual resource affected by the change of the NFVresource, and the information about the virtual resource may include theidentifier of the virtual resource affected by the change of the NFVresource, the event information indicating that the NFV resource is tochange, and the attribute of the to-be-changed NFV resource. Afterobtaining the information about the virtual resource affected by thechange of the NFV resource, the first network element may determine,based on the data stored in the first network element, the objectcorresponding to the affected virtual resource, namely, the objectaffected by the change of the NFV resource. Then, the first networkelement may determine whether the affected object belongs to the firstobject set. When the affected object belongs to the first object set,the first network element sends, to the second network element, thefirst notification message used to indicate NFV resource maintenance,where the first notification message may include information such as theidentification information of the affected object, the event informationindicating that the NFV resource is to change, and the attribute of theto-be-changed NFV resource, so that the second network element managesthe service in the object affected by the change of the NFV resource.

The foregoing describes a solution that when the NFV resource is tochange, the second network element applies for the resource that is notaffected by the change of the NFV resource, and migrates the service inthe object affected by the change of the NFV resource to the virtualresource that is not affected by the change of the NFV resource.Alternatively, in this embodiment of this application, there may be noneed to apply for the resource that is not affected by the change of theNFV resource. Instead, the second network element sends a policyindication used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, to avoid impactmade on the service.

Specifically, in another embodiment, in step 230, after the secondnetwork element receives the first notification message that is used toindicate NFV resource maintenance and that is sent by the first networkelement, the second network element sends, to the first network element,a policy indication message used to request to modify NFVI softwareand/or hardware, where the policy indication message carries secondconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware.Further, the first network element determines, based on the secondconstraint information in the policy indication message, an object (forexample, a VNF, a VNFC, or an NS) corresponding to the second constraintinformation, and determines first constraint information based on avirtual resource corresponding to the object. Then, the first networkelement sends, to the VIM, a second request message used to request tomodify NFVI software and/or hardware, where the second request messagecarries the first constraint information used to modify NFVI softwareand/or hardware. The VIM modifies NFV resource software or hardwarebased on the first constraint information.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the first notification message furthercarries the number of the to-be-changed NFV resource, and the secondconstraint information includes a first change identifier of an NFVresource and at least one of the following parameters: an identifier ofan NS instance, an identifier of at least one VNF instance in the NSinstance, an identifier of at least one group of VNFC instance in the atleast one VNF instance, an identifier of at least one VNFC instance inthe at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinityrule between the at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the VNFC instance in each of the at least onegroup of VNFC instance, a minimum quantity of VNFC instances that needto be reserved in each group of VNFC instance in an NFVI software and/orhardware modification process, a condition for constraining migration ofthe VNFC, an identifier of at least one group of virtual link VL, anidentifier of at least one virtual link VL in the at least one group ofvirtual link VL, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone group of virtual link VL, an affinity or anti-affinity rule betweenthe virtual link VL in the at least one group of virtual link VL, and aminimum quantity of virtual links VLs that need to be reserved in eachof the at least one group of virtual link VL in the NFVI software and/orhardware modification process.

The first change identifier of the NFV resource is corresponding to thenumber that is of the to-be-changed NFV resource and that is carried inthe first notification message, and the object affected by the change ofthe NFV resource belongs to the NS instance, the at least one VNFinstance in the NS instance, or the at least one group of VNFC instancein the at least one VNF instance. Optionally, the second constraintinformation may be carried in a filter in the second request message, orthe second constraint information may be directly carried in the secondrequest message. This embodiment of this application is not limitedthereto.

Optionally, the first constraint information includes a second changeidentifier of an NFV resource; the NFV resource includes at least oneNFV resource group, the NFV resource group includes at least one basicNFV resource unit, the basic NFV resource unit is a basic unit forvirtual computing, a basic unit for virtual storage, or a basic unit forvirtual communication, the second change identifier of the NFV resourceis corresponding to the number that is of the to-be-changed NFV resourceand that is carried in the first notification message, and the NFVresource includes the to-be-changed NFV resource; and the firstconstraint information further includes at least one piece of thefollowing information: an identifier of the NFV resource, an identifierof the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in the NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit. Optionally, the first constraint informationmay be carried in the filter in the second request message, or the firstconstraint information may be directly carried in the second requestmessage. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the NFV resource includes a virtualcomputing resource, and the basic unit for virtual computing is avirtual computing container; or the NFV resource includes a virtualstorage resource, and the basic unit for virtual storage is a virtualstorage container; or the NFV resource includes a virtual communicationresource, and the basic unit for virtual communication is a virtual linkVL.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the second networkelement sends, to the first network element, the policy indicationmessage carrying the constraint used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware. Further, the first network element determines, based on thesecond constraint information in the policy indication message, theobject (for example, a VNF, a VNFC, or an NS) corresponding to thesecond constraint information, and determines the first constraintinformation based on the virtual resource corresponding to the object.Then, the first network element sends the first constraint informationto the VIM by using the second request message, and further, the VIMmodifies the NFV resource software or hardware based on the firstconstraint information, to avoid impact made on the service.

The foregoing describes, with reference to FIG. 2, two servicemanagement solutions for avoiding service interruption when an NFVresource is to change in the embodiments of this application. A firstsolution is a service migration solution, and a second solution is anNFVI software and/or hardware modification solution.

The following describes in detail the service management method in theembodiments of this application in different cases with reference tospecific examples in FIG. 3A to FIG. 6B. The first solution is describedwith reference to FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B and by using an example in which afirst network element is a VNFM and a second network element is an EM.The first solution is described with reference to FIG. 4A and FIG. 4Band by using an example in which a first network element is an NFVO anda second network element is an OSS. The second solution is describedwith reference to FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B and by using an example in which afirst network element is a VNFM and a second network element is an EM.The second solution is described with reference to FIG. 6A and FIG. 6Band by using an example in which a first network element is an NFVO anda second network element is an OSS.

In the embodiments of this application, in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A,and FIG. 4B, a service management plane (an OSS or an EM) registers withan NFVO or a VNFM to subscribe to a notification mechanism indicatingthat an NFV resource used by a VNF is to change due to NFVI softwareupgrade, VIM software upgrade, or the like, so that the VNF can performservice migration. In this way, a highly-reliable service is notinterrupted when the NFVI changes, and normal running of the service isensured.

In the embodiments of this application, in FIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 6A,and FIG. 6B, a service management plane (an OSS or an EM) registers withan NFVO or a VNFM to subscribe to a notification mechanism indicatingthat an NFV resource used by a VNF is to change due to NFVI softwareupgrade, VIM software upgrade, so that the EM or the OSS can provide aconstraint in software or hardware request signaling. In this way, ahighly-reliable service is not interrupted when the NFVI changes, andnormal running of the service is ensured.

Specifically, in a method shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B, the servicemigration solution is described by using an example in which a firstnetwork element is a VNFM and a second network element is an EM.Specifically, the method shown in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B includes thefollowing steps.

301. The EM obtains a reliability requirement of a VNF and a servicemanagement (migration) capability of the VNF.

For example, the EM obtains a VNF corresponding to a highly-reliableservice, and learns that the VNF has a service management (migration)capability.

302. The EM registers an NFV resource change notification, and the VNFMreplies to the registration.

Specifically, the EM sends, to the VNFM, a first request message used tosubscribe to the NFV resource change notification. In other words, theEM registers (or subscribes to) the NFV resource change notification.Correspondingly, the VNFM replies to the EM with a response message. Thefirst request message carries identification information of the firstobject set, and the first request message is used to request the VNFM tosend the first notification message when a change of an NFV resourceaffects an object in the first object set.

The first object set may be the VNF running the highly-reliable service.

303. The VNFM registers the NFV resource change notification, and a VIMreplies to the registration.

Specifically, the VNFM sends, to the VIM, a request message used tosubscribe to the NFV resource change notification, to request the VIM tosend the NFV resource change notification when an NFV resource is tochange. Correspondingly, the VIM replies to the VNFM with a responsemessage.

304. The VIM sends the NFV resource change notification to the VNFM.

Specifically, when an NFV resource is to change (for example, NFVIsoftware upgrade, NFVI hardware repair, and NFVI hardware maintenance),the VIM sends, to the VNFM, a notification message used to indicate thatthe NFV resource is to change. The notification message carries anidentifier of a virtual resource affected by the change of the NFVresource, and the NFV resource includes at least one of the followingresources: a virtual computing resource, a virtual storage resource, anda virtual network resource.

305. The VNFM determines that an object affected by a change of an NFVresource belongs to a first object set.

Specifically, after obtaining the NFV resource change notification, theVNFM determines an object on the affected virtual resource, that is,determines the object affected by the change of the NFV resource. Theaffected object may be a VNF instance, a VNFC instance, or an NSinstance. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.Then, the VNFM determines whether the affected object belongs to thefirst object set. When the affected object belongs to the first objectset, the VNFM instructs the EM to perform service migration, andperforms step 308.

Specifically, when the affected object belongs to the first object set,it indicates that reliability of a service in the object is relativelyhigh, and service interruption needs to be avoided. Therefore, servicemigration needs to be performed to avoid service interruption.

When it is determined that the affected object does not belong to thefirst object set, it indicates that a highly-reliable servicecorresponding to the first object set is not affected, or an affectedservice has a tolerance to some extent, for example, short interruptionis allowed. Therefore, virtual machine migration may be directlyperformed. In this case, step 306 may be performed to perform livemigration on a virtual machine.

306. The VNFM sends a virtual machine live migration instruction to theVIM.

307. The VIM performs live migration on a virtual machine.

Specifically, the VIM migrates an affected virtual machine to a newvirtual machine that is not affected by the change of the NFV resource.

308. The VNFM sends the NFV resource change notification to the EM.

For example, the VNFM sends the first notification message used toindicate NFV resource maintenance, where the first notification messagecarries identification information of the object affected by the changeof the NFV resource.

309. The EM instructs the VNFM to perform VNF instantiation/scale-out.

Specifically, the EM instructs the VNFM to create new VNF instantiationor perform VNF scale-out. For example, the EM sends a resource requestmessage to the VNFM, where the resource request message is used torequest to create a virtual resource that is not affected by the changeof the NFV resource.

310. The VNFM applies to the VIM for a resource.

Specifically, after obtaining the resource request message, the VNFMsends a resource request to the VIM, to apply for the virtual resourcethat is not affected by the change of the NFV resource. After obtainingthe resource request, the VIM creates the virtual resource that is notaffected by the change of the NFV resource. After completing creation ofthe virtual resource that is not affected by the change of the NFVresource, the VIM sends a creation completion message to the firstnetwork element.

311. The VNFM reports a VNF instantiation/scale-out result.

Specifically, the VNFM sends resource indication information to the EM,where the resource indication information indicates the virtual resourcethat is not affected by the change of the NFV resource.

312. The EM sends a service migration instruction to the VNF.

313. The VNF performs service migration.

Specifically, the VNF migrates a service to a new service node.

314. The VNFM reports, to the EM, that service migration is completed.

After the VNF completes service migration, the VNFM sends a servicemigration completion notification message to the EM. Then, the EM mayrequest the VNFM to release a resource of earlier-version software, sothat the VIM can perform software upgrade, resource modification,hardware maintenance, or the like.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the servicemanagement plane EM registers with the VNFM to subscribe to anotification mechanism indicating that an NFV resource used by the VNFis to change due to NFVI software upgrade, VIM software upgrade, or thelike, so that the VNF can perform service migration. In this way, ahighly-reliable service is not interrupted when the NFVI changes, andnormal running of the service is ensured.

It should be understood that FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B are merely an exampleof the embodiments of this application. Optionally, signaling messagesin steps such as step 308 may further include a first resource changeidentifier, where the first resource change identifier may be used toindicate a number of the to-be-changed NFV resource.

In a method shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B, the service migration solutionis described by using an example in which a first network element is anNFVO and a second network element is an OSS. Specifically, the methodshown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B includes the following steps 401 to 414. Itshould be understood that the method shown in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B issimilar to that in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B. Steps 401 to 414 arerespectively corresponding to steps 301 to 314, and a difference lies inthat the EM in FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B is replaced with the OSS and the VNFMin FIG. 3A and FIG. 3B is replaced with the NFVO to obtain the method inFIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions areappropriately omitted in the steps in FIG. 4A and FIG. 4B. It should beunderstood that because the OSS cannot directly communicate with a VNF,a message or data transmitted between the OSS and the VNF in FIG. 4A andFIG. 4B needs to be forwarded by an EM. Specifically, after obtaining amessage sent by the OSS (or the VNF), the EM may directly forward themessage to the VNF (or the OSS), or the EM may forward a correspondingmessage after processing the message. This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto.

401. The OSS obtains a reliability requirement of a VNF and a servicemanagement (migration) capability of the VNF.

402. The OSS registers an NFV resource change notification, and the NFVOreplies to the registration.

403. The NFVO registers the NFV resource change notification, and a VIMreplies to the registration.

404. The VIM sends the NFV resource change notification to the NFVO.

405. The NFVO determines that an object affected by a change of an NFVresource belongs to a first object set.

The NFVO determines whether the affected object belongs to the firstobject set. When the affected object belongs to the first object set,the NFVO instructs the OSS to perform service migration, and performsstep 408.

When it is determined that the affected object does not belong to thefirst object set, step 406 is performed to perform live migration on avirtual machine.

406. The NFVO sends a virtual machine live migration instruction to theVIM.

407. The VIM performs live migration on a virtual machine.

408. The NFVO sends the NFV resource change notification to the OSS.

409. The OSS instructs the NFVO to perform VNF instantiation/scale-out.

410. The NFVO applies to the VIM for a resource.

411. The NFVO reports a VNF instantiation/scale-out result.

412. The OSS sends a service migration instruction to the VNF.

413. The VNF performs service migration.

414. The NFVO reports, to the OSS, that service migration is completed.

After the VNF completes service migration, the NFVO sends a servicemigration completion notification message to the OSS. Then, the OSS mayrequest the NFVO to release a resource of earlier-version software, sothat the VIM can perform software upgrade, resource modification,hardware maintenance, or the like.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the servicemanagement plane OSS registers with the NFVO to subscribe to anotification mechanism indicating that an NFV resource used by the VNFis to change due to NFVI software upgrade, VIM software upgrade, or thelike, so that the VNF can perform service migration. In this way, ahighly-reliable service is not interrupted when the NFVI changes, andnormal running of the service is ensured.

It should be understood that for content and usage of the messages inFIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A, and FIG. 4B, refer to the foregoingcorresponding descriptions in FIG. 2. To avoid repetition, details arenot described herein again.

It should also be understood that the examples in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG.4A, and FIG. 4B are merely used to help a person skilled in the artunderstand the embodiments of the present invention, but are notintended to limit the embodiments of the present invention to a specificvalue or a specific scenario in the examples. A person skilled in theart apparently can make various equivalent modifications or changesaccording to the examples shown in FIG. 3A, FIG. 3B, FIG. 4A, and FIG.4B, and such modifications or changes also fall within the scope of theembodiments of the present invention.

For example, in step 302 in FIG. 3A, an action of registering, by theEM, the NFV resource change may be performed by the VNF instead, andcorrespondingly step 301 may be removed. In step 308, an action ofreporting, by the VNFM, the NFV resource change notification to the VNFmay be replaced with an action of reporting, by the VNFM, the NFVresource change notification to the VNF. This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto.

In a method shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B, the NFVI software and/orhardware modification solution is described by using an example in whicha first network element is a VNFM and a second network element is an EM.Specifically, the method shown in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B includes thefollowing steps.

501. The EM obtains a reliability requirement of a VNF and a servicemanagement (migration) capability of the VNF.

For example, the EM obtains a VNF corresponding to a highly-reliableservice, and learns that the VNF does not have a service management(migration) capability.

502. The EM registers an NFV resource change notification, and the VNFMreplies to the registration.

Specifically, the EM sends, to the VNFM, a first request message used tosubscribe to the NFV resource change notification. In other words, theEM registers (or subscribes to) the NFV resource change notification.Correspondingly, the VNFM replies to the EM with a response message. Thefirst request message carries identification information of the firstobject set, and the first request message is used to request the VNFM tosend the first notification message when a change of an NFV resourceaffects an object in the first object set.

The first object set may be the VNF running the highly-reliable service.

503. The VNFM registers the NFV resource change notification, and a VIMreplies to the registration.

Specifically, the VNFM sends, to the VIM, a request message used tosubscribe to the NFV resource change notification, to request the VIM tosend the NFV resource change notification when an NFV resource is tochange. Correspondingly, the VIM replies to the VNFM with a responsemessage.

504. The VIM sends the NFV resource change notification to the VNFM.

Specifically, when an NFV resource is to change (for example, NFVIsoftware upgrade, NFVI hardware repair, and NFVI hardware maintenance),the VIM sends, to the VNFM, a notification message used to indicate thatthe NFV resource is to change. The notification message carries anidentifier of a virtual resource affected by the change of the NFVresource, and the NFV resource includes at least one of the followingresources: a virtual computing resource, a virtual storage resource, anda virtual network resource.

505. The VNFM determines that an object affected by a change of an NFVresource belongs to a first object set.

Specifically, after obtaining the NFV resource change notification, theVNFM determines an object on the affected virtual resource, that is,determines the object affected by the change of the NFV resource. Theaffected object may be a VNF instance, a VNFC instance, or an NSinstance. This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.Then, the VNFM determines whether the affected object belongs to thefirst object set. When the affected object belongs to the first objectset, the VNFM instructs the EM to perform service migration, andperforms step 508.

Specifically, when the affected object belongs to the first object set,it indicates that reliability of a service in the object is relativelyhigh, and service interruption needs to be avoided. Therefore, servicemigration needs to be performed to avoid service interruption.

When it is determined that the affected object does not belong to thefirst object set, it indicates that a highly-reliable servicecorresponding to the first object set is not affected, or an affectedservice has a tolerance to some extent, for example, short interruptionis allowed. Therefore, virtual machine migration may be directlyperformed. In this case, step 506 may be performed to perform livemigration on a virtual machine.

506. The VNFM sends a virtual machine live migration instruction to theVIM.

507. The VIM performs live migration on a virtual machine.

Specifically, the VIM migrates an affected virtual machine to a newvirtual machine that is not affected by the change of the NFV resource.

508. The VNFM sends the NFV resource change notification to the EM.

For example, the VNFM sends the first notification message used toindicate NFV resource maintenance, where the first notification messagecarries identification information of the object affected by the changeof the NFV resource.

509. The EM delivers an NFVI software and/or hardware modificationpolicy.

Specifically, because the VNF does not have a service migrationcapability, the EM may instruct to modify NFVI software and/or hardware,to ensure that a service is not interrupted. Specifically, the EM sends,to the VNFM, a policy indication message used to request to modify NFVIsoftware and/or hardware. The policy indication message carries secondconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware.Specifically, for the second constraint information, refer to theforegoing description. Details are not described herein again.

510. The VNFM sends an NFVI software and/or hardware modificationrequest to the VIM.

Specifically, the VNFM may determine a first constraint based on thesecond constraint. Then, the VNFM sends, to the VIM, a second requestmessage used to request to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, wherethe second request message carries the first constraint information usedto modify NFVI software and/or hardware. Specifically, for the firstconstraint information, refer to the foregoing description. Details arenot described herein again.

511. The VIM modifies NFVI software and/or hardware.

Specifically, the VIM modifies the NFV resource software or hardwarebased on the first constraint information.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the VIM performs an operation ofterminating a to-be-changed NFV resource (in this application,“to-be-changed” specifically means “is going to be changed”), andmodifies NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to the terminatedNFV resource. For an action of terminating, by the VIM, theto-be-changed NFV resource, refer to a procedure in an existingstandard, for example, refer to 7.3.1.5, 7.4.1.5, and 7.5.1.5 in ETSI GSNFV-IFA 005 V2.1.1 (2016-04) that respectively describe termination of avirtual computing resource, a virtual network resource, and a virtualstorage resource. Termination herein may be understood as release of abinding relationship between the NFV resource and a user, and theterminated NFV resource cannot provide a service. The “modifying NFVIsoftware and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resource”may be upgrade, deletion, adding, and the like of the software and/orhardware. For example, when the NFV resource is a virtual storageresource, corresponding NFVI software may be virtualization software,and modifying software may be upgrading the virtualization software.Corresponding NFVI hardware may be a hard disk or a flash memory, andmodifying hardware may be modification such as adding a hard disk or aflash memory.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the performing, by the VIM, anoperation of terminating a to-be-changed NFV resource includes: S1:terminating one or more basic NFV resource units in the to-be-changedNFV resource, where a quantity of remaining basic NFV resource unitsafter the one or more basic NFV resource units in the to-be-changed NFVresource are terminated cannot be less than a predetermined minimumquantity; S2: removing the terminated NFV resource from a resource poolmanaged by the VIM, that is, removing an internal management object(internal management objects) corresponding to the terminated NFVresource. For a specific method for performing the “termination” action,refer to descriptions in the standard.

Optionally, in another embodiment, after learning that a serviceassociated with the terminated to-be-changed NFV resource has beenrestored to a new NFV resource, the VIM performs the actions in S1 andS2, and modifies the NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to theterminated NFV resource. The process is repeated, so that allto-be-changed NFV resources are terminated, modification of NFVIsoftware and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resourcesis completed, and services associated with the terminated to-be-changedNFV resources are restored to new NFV resources.

For example, it is assumed that a user uses 10 basic NFV resource unitsrespectively numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . , and 10, and there are fourto-be-changed basic NFV resource units respectively numbered 1, 2, 3,and 4. It is assumed that a predetermined minimum quantity is 8. In thiscase, step S1 may be first performed to terminate one or two basic NFVresource units (because a quantity of remaining basic NFV resource unitsafter termination cannot be less than 8), for example, terminate twobasic NFV resource units in this embodiment. Then, a removal operationin S2 is performed (to be specific, the two basic NFV resource units areremoved from the resource pool managed by the VIM). Next, NFVI softwareand/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resource are/ismodified, so that the modified NFVI software and/or hardware can be usedas a new NFV resource subsequently.

In addition, after the termination action in S1 and the removal actionin S2 are performed, the EM may apply to the VIM for a new NFV resourceby using the VNFM, and allocate the new NFV resource to the VNF; and theVNF restores, to the applied-for NFV resource, a part or all of aservice associated with the terminated NFV resource (in other words, theservice on the terminated NFV resource is restored to the applied-fornew NFV resource). In this embodiment, two new NFV resourcesrespectively numbered 11 and 12 may be applied for (certainly, more orfewer NFV resources may alternatively be applied for), and then, a partor all of services associated with the NFV resources numbered 1 and 2may be restored to the NFV resources numbered 11 and 12.

In this application, the VIM monitors a running status of the VNF, andperforms the termination operation in S1 and the removal operation in S2after learning that the VNF restores the service. Specifically, becausethere are four to-be-changed basic NFV resource units, two basic NFVresource units need to be terminated subsequently. In this case, theforegoing process may be repeated. For example, basic NFV resource unitsnumbered 3 and 4 are terminated and removed. Then, services associatedwith the basic NFV resource units numbered 3 and 4 are restored to a newNFV resource (namely, a basic NFV resource unit, for example, theservices are restored to a new basic NFV resource unit numbered 13), andthen NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFVresources are/is modified.

Termination performed in this way can avoid, to a greatest extent,impact made on a service. To be specific, in a process of upgrading abasic NFV resource unit, some basic NFV resource units can still provideservice support (for example, basic NFV resource units numbered 1 and 2are terminated first, and basic NFV resource units numbered 3 to 10 canstill provide service support).

512. The EM instructs the VNFM to perform VNF instantiation/scale-out,to restore the affected object to a state that is before deletion.

Specifically, the EM instructs the VNFM to create new VNF instantiationor perform VNF scale-out. For example, the EM sends a scale-out requestto the VNFM, to request to restore the object affected by the change ofthe NFV resource to the state that is before deletion.

513. The VNFM applies to the VIM for a resource.

Specifically, after receiving the scale-out request, the VNFM sends aresource request to the VIM, to perform VNF scale-out or instantiation.After receiving the request, the VIM allocates a resource, to completeVNF instantiation or VNF scale-out.

514. The VNFM reports a VNF instantiation/scale-out result to the EM.

NFV resource NFV resource NFV resource NFV resource NFV resource NFVresource. Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the servicemanagement plane EM registers with the VNFM to subscribe to anotification mechanism indicating that an NFV resource used by the VNFis to change due to NFVI software upgrade, VIM software upgrade, or thelike, so that the EM can provide a constraint in software or hardwarerequest signaling. In this way, a highly-reliable service is notinterrupted when the NFVI changes, and normal running of the service isensured.

It should be understood that FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B are merely an exampleof the embodiments of this application. Optionally, signaling messagesin steps such as step 508 may further include a first resource changeidentifier, where the first resource change identifier may be used toindicate a number of the to-be-changed NFV resource.

In a method shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B, the NFVI software and/orhardware modification solution is described by using an example in whicha first network element is an NFVO and a second network element is anOSS. Specifically, the method shown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B includes thefollowing steps 601 to 612. It should be understood that the methodshown in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B is similar to that in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B.Steps 601 to 612 are respectively corresponding to steps 501 to 512, anda difference lies in that the EM in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B is replaced withthe OSS and the VNFM in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B is replaced with the NFVO toobtain the method in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B. To avoid repetition, detaileddescriptions are appropriately omitted in the steps in FIG. 6A and FIG.6B. It should be understood that because the OSS cannot directlycommunicate with a VNF, a message or data transmitted between the OSSand the VNF in FIG. 6A and FIG. 6B needs to be forwarded by an EM.Specifically, after obtaining a message sent by the OSS (or the VNF),the EM may directly forward the message to the VNF (or the OSS), or theEM may forward a corresponding message after processing the message.This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

601. The OSS obtains a reliability requirement of a VNF and a servicemanagement (migration) capability of the VNF.

602. The OSS registers an NFV resource change notification, and the NFVOreplies to the registration.

603. The NFVO registers the NFV resource change notification, and a VIMreplies to the registration.

604. The VIM sends the NFV resource change notification to the NFVO.

605. The NFVO determines that an object affected by a change of an NFVresource belongs to a first object set.

The NFVO determines whether the affected object belongs to the firstobject set. When the affected object belongs to the first object set,the NFVO instructs the OSS to perform service migration, and performsstep 608.

When it is determined that the affected object does not belong to thefirst object set, step 606 is performed to perform live migration on avirtual machine.

606. The NFVO sends a virtual machine live migration instruction to theVIM.

607. The VIM performs live migration on a virtual machine.

608. The NFVO sends the NFV resource change notification to the OSS.

609. The OSS delivers an NFVI software and/or hardware modificationpolicy.

Specifically, because the VNF does not have a service migrationcapability, the OSS may instruct to modify NFVI software and/orhardware, to ensure that a service is not interrupted. It should beunderstood that step 609 may be similar to step 509, and the OSS sends,to the NFVO, a policy indication message used to request to modify NFVIsoftware and/or hardware. The policy indication message carries secondconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware.Specifically, for the second constraint information, refer to theforegoing description. Details are not described herein again.

Alternatively, for compatibility with an existing standard, in step 609,the EM may send the second constraint information by using signaling inthe existing standard. For example, same as the signaling in step 409 orstep 309, the EM sends a VNF instantiation/scale-out request message ora network service update (NS update) request message, where the requestmessage carries the second constraint information. This embodiment ofthis application is not limited thereto.

610. The NFVO sends an NFVI software and/or hardware modificationrequest to the VIM.

611. The VIM modifies NFVI software and/or hardware.

Specifically, the VIM modifies the NFV resource software or hardwarebased on first constraint information.

It should be understood that step 611 is corresponding to step 511 inFIG. 5B. For a manner in which the VIM modifies the NFVI software and/orhardware herein, refer to the description in step 511. A difference liesin that an action performed by the EM in step 511 is performed by theOSS instead, and an action performed by the VNFM in step 511 is replacedwith an action performed by the NFVO, to obtain a specificimplementation method in step 611. To avoid repetition, details are notdescribed herein again.

612. The OSS instructs the NFVO to perform VNF instantiation/scale-out,to restore the affected object to a state that is before deletion.

Specifically, the OSS instructs the NFVO to create new VNF instantiationor VNF scale-out. For example, the OSS sends a scale-out request to theNFVO, to request to restore the object affected by the change of the NFVresource to the state that is before deletion.

613. The NFVO applies to the VIM for a resource.

Specifically, after receiving the scale-out request, the NFVO sends aresource request to the VIM, to perform VNF scale-out or instantiation.After receiving the request, the VIM allocates a resource, to completeVNF instantiation or VNF scale-out.

614. The NFVO reports a VNF instantiation/scale-out result to the OSS.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, the servicemanagement plane OSS registers with the NFVO to subscribe to anotification mechanism indicating that an NFV resource used by the VNFis to change due to NFVI software upgrade, VIM software upgrade, or thelike, so that the OSS can provide a constraint in software or hardwarerequest signaling. In this way, a highly-reliable service is notinterrupted when the NFVI changes, and normal running of the service isensured.

It should be understood that for content and usage of the messages inFIG. 5A, FIG. 5B, FIG. 6A, and FIG. 6B, refer to the foregoingcorresponding descriptions in FIG. 2. To avoid repetition, details arenot described herein again.

It should be understood that the foregoing examples in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6Bare merely used to help a person skilled in the art understand theembodiments of the present invention, but are not intended to limit theembodiments of the present invention to a specific value or a specificscenario in the examples. A person skilled in the art apparently canmake various equivalent modifications or changes according to theexamples shown in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6B, and such modifications or changesalso fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.For example, an action performed by the EM in FIG. 5A and FIG. 5B may beperformed by the VNF instead. This embodiment of this application is notlimited thereto.

The foregoing describes in detail the service management methods in theembodiments of the present invention with reference to FIG. 1 to FIG.6B, and the following describes service management devices in theembodiments of the present invention with reference to FIG. 7 to FIG.11.

FIG. 7 is a schematic flowchart of a service management method accordingto another embodiment of the present invention. The method in FIG. 7 maybe applicable to an NFV system 100 shown in FIG. 1, and a method 700shown in FIG. 7 includes the following steps.

710. A first network element generates first constraint information usedto modify NFVI software and/or hardware.

720. The first network element sends a first notification message to aVIM.

Correspondingly, the VIM receives the first notification message.

The first notification message carries the first constraint information.

It should be understood that in this embodiment of this application, thefirst notification message may be sent by using a protocol and a formatin an existing standard, and this is not limited in this embodiment ofthis application. For example, the first notification message may besent in a form such as a restful protocol format, and this embodiment ofthis application is not limited thereto.

It should also be understood that formats or forms of the other messagesin this embodiment of this application are not limited, and the othermessages may be sent according to a stipulation in the existingstandard.

730. The VIM modifies NFVI software and/or hardware based on the firstconstraint information.

Specifically, when an NFV resource needs to change, the first networkelement receives a notification message indicating that the NFV resourceis to change. For example, when the NFV resource needs to change, theVIM sends the resource change notification message, where thenotification message indicates that the NFV resource needs to change.Then, the first network element may generate the first constraintinformation used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, and send thefirst constraint information to the VIM by using the first notificationmessage; and further, the VIM may modify the NFVI software and/orhardware based on the first constraint information.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, the first network element sends, to the VIM, theconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, toavoid a problem that a service is affected because the VIM directlymigrates the service. In this way, in this embodiment of thisapplication, impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice is avoided, a highly-reliable service is not interrupted when anNFVI changes, normal running of the service is ensured, and userexperience is improved.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first network element is an NFVorchestrator NFVO, or the first network element is a VNF manager VNFM.

It should be understood that because a communications interface existsbetween the VIM and the VNFM and between the VIM and the NFVO, and acommunications interface also exists between the VNFM and the NFVO, amessage sent by the VIM and received by the VNFM may be directlyreceived, or may be indirectly received by using the NFVO (transit).

For example, when the first network element is an NFV orchestrator NFVO,the NFV resource change notification may be received by the NFVOdirectly by using the VIM; or when the first network element is a VNFmanager VNFM, the NFV resource change notification is received by theVNFM directly by using the VIM, or the NFV resource change notificationis received by the VNFM indirectly by using an NFVO.

Similarly, when the first network element is a VNFM, a message sent bythe VNFM to the VIM, for example, a reply message, may be directly sent,or may be indirectly sent by using the NFVO. This embodiment of thisapplication is not limited thereto.

Optionally, in an embodiment, before step 710, the method may furtherinclude:

receiving, by the first network element, a subscription request messagesent by the VIM, where the subscription request message is used tosubscribe to constraint information used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware; and

sending, by the first network element, a reply message to the VIM, wherethe reply message is used to indicate that the VIM successfullysubscribes to the constraint information.

Specifically, the VIM first sends the subscription request message tothe first network element, to register and subscribe to the constraintinformation used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware. Afterobtaining and receiving the notification message indicating that the NFVresource is to change, the first network element generates, based on thesubscription of the VIM, the first constraint information used to modifyNFVI software and/or hardware, and sends the first constraintinformation to the VIM by using the first notification message; andfurther, the VIM may modify the NFVI software and/or hardware based onthe first constraint information.

It should be understood that in the foregoing description of thisembodiment of this application, information is first subscribed to byusing the subscription request message, and then the first networkelement sends the first notification message only after obtaining theNFV resource change notification. This manner can satisfy a stipulationin an existing standard, that is, a requirement that a notification issent after subscription can satisfy a procedure in the existingstandard. Optionally, in this embodiment of this application, the VIMmay not send the subscription request message, and the first networkelement may send the first notification message to the VIM afterobtaining the NFV resource change notification. Although this mannerdoes not satisfy the standard procedure, in this case, signalingoverheads between network elements can be reduced and system performancecan be improved. This embodiment of this application is not limitedthereto.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first constraint informationincludes a change identifier (for example, a changeID in the existingstandard) of an NFV resource. The NFV resource includes at least one NFVresource group, the NFV resource group includes at least one basic NFVresource unit, and the basic NFV resource unit is a basic unit forvirtual computing, a basic unit for virtual storage, or a basic unit forvirtual communication. The change identifier of the NFV resource iscorresponding to a number that is of a to-be-changed NFV resource andthat is carried in the NFV resource change notification sent by the VIM,and the NFV resource includes the to-be-changed NFV resource.

The first constraint information further includes at least one piece ofthe following information:

an identifier (for example, a VirtualizedResourceID in the existingstandard) of the NFV resource, an identifier of the at least one NFVresource group in the NFV resource, an identifier of the at least onebasic NFV resource unit in the NFV resource group, an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the at least one NFV resource group, anaffinity or anti-affinity rule between the basic NFV resource unit ineach of the at least one NFV resource group, a minimum quantity of basicNFV resource units that need to be reserved in each NFV resource groupin an NFVI software and/or hardware modification process, and acondition for constraining migration of a basic NFV resource unit.

Optionally, in an embodiment, the NFV resource includes a virtualcomputing resource, and the basic NFV resource unit is a virtualcomputing container; or the NFV resource includes a virtual storageresource, and the basic NFV resource unit is a virtual storagecontainer; or the NFV resource includes a virtual communicationresource, and the basic NFV resource unit is a virtual link VL.

It should be understood that the NFV resource in this embodiment of thisapplication may include one or more of a virtual computing resource, avirtual storage resource, and a virtual communication resource. Eachgroup of virtual resource may include one or more resource groups, andeach resource group may include one or more basic resource units. Thisembodiment of this application is not limited thereto.

Optionally, in an embodiment, in step 710, after receiving the NFVresource change notification sent by the VIM, the first network elementqueries for real-time running status data of a virtualized networkfunction VNF, and generates second constraint information based on avirtualized network function descriptor VNFD; and

the first network element converts the second constraint informationinto the first constraint information.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the second constraint informationincludes at least one of the following parameters: an identifier of atleast one VNF instance, an identifier of at least one group of VNFCinstance in the at least one VNF instance, an identifier of at least oneVNFC instance in the at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the at least one group of VNFC instance, anaffinity or anti-affinity rule between the VNFC instance in each of theat least one group of VNFC instance, a minimum quantity of VNFCinstances that need to be reserved in each group of VNFC instance in anNFV resource software or hardware modification process, an identifier ofat least one group of virtual link VL, an identifier of at least onevirtual link VL in the at least one group of virtual link VL, anaffinity or anti-affinity rule between the at least one group of virtuallink VL, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the virtual link VLin the at least one group of virtual link VL, a minimum quantity ofvirtual links VLs that need to be reserved in each of the at least onegroup of virtual link VL in the NFV resource software or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of theVNFC.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the generating second constraintinformation based on a virtualized network function descriptor VNFDincludes: generating, by the first network element, the secondconstraint information by using a VNF life cycle management scriptcarried in the VNFD; and

the converting, by the first network element, the second constraintinformation into the first constraint information includes: converting,by the first network element, the second constraint into the firstconstraint information based on a correspondence between a VNF instanceand an NFV resource.

For example, the first network element obtains, from a VNF softwarepackage, an applet that can generate the second constraint information,where the applet can generate, by querying a database of the VNFinstance, an NFVI software and/or hardware modification policy (namely,the second constraint information). The first network element generatesthe second constraint information by using the applet, and then convertsthe second constraint information into the first constraint information.

For example, a VNF software vendor makes the applet, and adds the appletto the VNF software package for publishing. The applet can implement thefollowing function: calculating and obtaining the NFVI software and/orhardware modification policy (corresponding to the second constraintinformation) by querying for real-time running status data of a VNF.When delivering a VNF instantiation request to the first networkelement, the second network element adds the VNF life cycle managementscript (script) or a VNF monitoring indicator to the VNFD specified bythe request message. When receiving an event indicating that the NFVresource is to change due to software or hardware or daily maintenance,the first network element triggers execution of the VNF life cyclemanagement script (script), and the VNF life cycle management script(script) triggers the VNFM to execute the applet for the policy orconstraint used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, to generate thesecond constraint information through calculation, and convert thesecond constraint information into the first constraint information.

Optionally, in another embodiment, in step 730, the VIM may modify theNFVI software and/or hardware based on the following process:

The VIM performs an operation of terminating a to-be-changed NFVresource (in this application, “changed” specifically means “to bechanged”), and modifies NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding tothe terminated NFV resource. For an action of terminating, by the VIM,the to-be-changed NFV resource, refer to a procedure in the existingstandard, for example, refer to 7.3.1.5, 7.4.1.5, and 7.5.1.5 in ETSI GSNFV-IFA 005 V2.1.1 (2016-04) that respectively describe termination of avirtual computing resource, a virtual network resource, and a virtualstorage resource. Termination herein may be understood as release of abinding relationship between the NFV resource and a user, and theterminated NFV resource cannot provide a service. The “modifying NFVIsoftware and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resource”may be upgrade, deletion, adding, and the like of the software and/orhardware. For example, when the NFV resource is a virtual storageresource, corresponding NFVI software may be virtualization software,and modifying software may be upgrading the virtualization software.Corresponding NFVI hardware may be a hard disk or a flash memory, andmodifying hardware may be modification such as adding a hard disk or aflash memory.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the performing, by the VIM, anoperation of terminating a to-be-changed NFV resource includes: S1:terminating one or more basic NFV resource units in the to-be-changedNFV resource, where a quantity of remaining basic NFV resource unitsafter the one or more basic NFV resource units in the to-be-changed NFVresource are terminated cannot be less than a predetermined minimumquantity; S2: removing the terminated NFV resource from a resource poolmanaged by the VIM, that is, removing an internal management object(internal management objects) corresponding to the terminated NFVresource. For a specific method for performing the “termination” action,refer to descriptions in the standard.

Optionally, in another embodiment, after learning that a serviceassociated with the terminated to-be-changed NFV resource has beenrestored to a new NFV resource, the VIM performs the actions in S1 andS2, and modifies the NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to theterminated NFV resource. The process is repeated, so that allto-be-changed NFV resources are terminated, modification of NFVIsoftware and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resourcesis completed, and services associated with the terminated to-be-changedNFV resources are restored to new NFV resources.

For example, it is assumed that a user uses 10 basic NFV resource unitsrespectively numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . , and 10, and there are fourto-be-changed basic NFV resource units respectively numbered 1, 2, 3,and 4. It is assumed that a predetermined minimum quantity is 8. In thiscase, step S1 may be first performed to terminate one or two basic NFVresource units (because a quantity of remaining basic NFV resource unitsafter termination cannot be less than 8), for example, terminate twobasic NFV resource units in this embodiment. Then, a removal operationin S2 is performed (to be specific, the two basic NFV resource units areremoved from the resource pool managed by the VIM). Next, NFVI softwareand/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resource are/ismodified, so that the modified NFVI software and/or hardware can be usedas a new NFV resource subsequently.

In addition, after the termination action in S1 and the removal actionin S2 are performed, an EM may apply to the VIM for a new NFV resourceby using the VNFM, and allocate the new NFV resource to the VNF; and theVNF restores, to the applied-for NFV resource, a part or all of aservice associated with the terminated NFV resource (in other words, theservice on the terminated NFV resource is restored to the applied-fornew NFV resource). In this embodiment, two new NFV resourcesrespectively numbered 11 and 12 may be applied for (certainly, more orfewer NFV resources may alternatively be applied for), and then, a partor all of services associated with the NFV resources numbered 1 and 2may be restored to the NFV resources numbered 11 and 12.

In this application, the VIM monitors a running status of the VNF, andperforms the termination operation in S1 and the removal operation in S2after learning that the VNF restores the service. Specifically, becausethere are four to-be-changed basic NFV resource units, two basic NFVresource units need to be terminated subsequently. In this case, theforegoing process may be repeated. For example, basic NFV resource unitsnumbered 3 and 4 are terminated and removed. Then, services associatedwith the basic NFV resource units numbered 3 and 4 are restored to a newNFV resource (namely, a basic NFV resource unit, for example, theservices are restored to a new basic NFV resource unit numbered 13), andthen NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFVresources are/is modified.

Termination performed in this way can avoid, to a greatest extent,impact made on a service. To be specific, in a process of upgrading abasic NFV resource unit, some basic NFV resource units can still provideservice support (for example, basic NFV resource units numbered 1 and 2are terminated first, and basic NFV resource units numbered 3 to 10 canstill provide service support).

Optionally, in another embodiment, after the VIM completes modificationof the NFVI software and/or hardware, the method 700 may furtherinclude:

instructing, by the second network element, the first network element tocreate a VNF instance or perform VNF scale-out, to restore an affectedobject to a state that is before deletion. For example, the secondnetwork element sends an NFV instantiation/scale-out request to thefirst network element; and after obtaining the VNFinstantiation/scale-out request sent by the second network element, thefirst network element applies to the VIM for a resource. For example,after receiving the scale-out request, the VNFM sends a resource requestto the VIM, to perform VNF scale-out or instantiation. After receivingthe request, the VIM allocates a resource, to complete VNF instantiationor VNF scale-out. Finally, the VNFM reports a VNFinstantiation/scale-out result to the EM.

The foregoing describes, with reference to FIG. 7, a solution in thisembodiment of this application that when an NFV resource is to change,the VIMN generates an NFVI modification policy based on the firstnetwork element and performs NFVI modification.

The following describes in detail the service management method in theembodiments of this application in different cases with reference tospecific examples in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9. The service management method inthe embodiments of this application is described with reference to FIG.8 and by using an example in which a first network element is a VNFM anda second network element is an EM, and with reference to FIG. 9 and byusing an example in which a first network element is an NFVO and asecond network element is an OSS.

In a method shown in FIG. 8, the NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification solution is described by using an example in which a firstnetwork element is a VNFM and a second network element is an EM.Specifically, the method shown in FIG. 8 includes the following steps.

801. The EM determines that a VNF software package is uploaded to an NFVsoftware management system, and determines that an applet generating anNFVI software and/or hardware modification policy is carried in the VNFsoftware package.

For example, a VNF software vendor makes the applet, and adds the appletto the VNF software package for publishing. The applet can implement thefollowing function: calculating and obtaining the NFVI software and/orhardware modification policy (namely, second constraint information) byquerying for real-time running status data of a VNF.

The EM checks and determines that the VNF software package is uploadedto the NFV software management system, and determines that the appletgenerating the NFVI software and/or hardware modification policy iscarried in the VNF software package.

For a limitation of the second constraint information, refer to theforegoing description in FIG. 7. Details are not described herein again.

802. The EM sends a VNF instantiation request to the VNFM.

Specifically, after receiving the VNF instantiation request, the VNFMperforms VNF instantiation, and adds a VNF life cycle management script(script) or a VNF monitoring indicator to a VNFD.

803. A VIM registers with the VNFM for the NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification policy, and the VNFM replies to the registration.

Specifically, the VNFM receives a subscription request message sent bythe VIM, where the subscription request message is used to subscribe toconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware.

804. The VIM sends an NFV resource change notification to the VNFM.

Specifically, when an NFV resource is to change (for example, becauseNFVI software and/or hardware needs to be modified (for example, NFVIsoftware upgrade, NFVI hardware repair, or NFVI hardware maintenance),an NFV resource provided by the NFVI software and/or hardware needs tobe maintained, leading to a change of the NFV resource provided by theNFVI software and/or hardware), the VIM sends, to the VNFM, anotification message used to indicate that the NFV resource is tochange, where the notification message indicates that the NFV resourceis to change.

Optionally, the resource change notification message carries anotification number and an identifier of the to-be-changed resource.

805. The VNFM generates first constraint information.

Specifically, after obtaining an NFV resource change notification event,the VNFM executes the applet, queries for real-time running status dataof the VNF, generates the second constraint information based on thevirtualized network function descriptor VNFD, and generates the firstconstraint information based on the second constraint information.

For example, after obtaining the NFV resource change notification eventsent by the VIM, the VNFM triggers execution of the VNF life cyclemanagement script (script), and the VNF life cycle management script(script) triggers the VNFM to execute the applet that is used tocalculate a policy or a constraint used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware, to calculate and obtain the NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification policy (namely, the second constraint information) byquerying for the real-time running status data of the VNF, and thenconvert the second constraint information into the first constraintinformation. For example, the first network element converts the secondconstraint into the first constraint information based on acorrespondence between a VNF instance and an NFV resource.

Specifically, for the first constraint information, namely, thelimitation of the second constraint information, refer to thedescriptions in FIG. 7. Details are not described herein again.

806. The VNFM sends a first notification message to the VIM.

The first notification message carries the first constraint information.

807. The VIM modifies NFVI software and/or hardware based on the firstconstraint information.

Specifically, the VIM modifies the NFVI software and/or hardware in thefollowing manner:

The VIM performs an operation of terminating a to-be-changed NFVresource (in this application, “changed” specifically means “to bechanged”), and modifies NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding tothe terminated NFV resource. For an action of terminating, by the VIM,the to-be-changed NFV resource, refer to a procedure in an existingstandard, for example, refer to 7.3.1.5, 7.4.1.5, and 7.5.1.5 in ETSI GSNFV-IFA 005 V2.1.1 (2016-04) that respectively describe termination of avirtual computing resource, a virtual network resource, and a virtualstorage resource. Termination herein may be understood as release of abinding relationship between the NFV resource and a user, and theterminated NFV resource cannot provide a service. The “modifying NFVIsoftware and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resource”may be upgrade, deletion, adding, and the like of the software and/orhardware. For example, when the NFV resource is a virtual storageresource, corresponding NFVI software may be virtualization software,and modifying software may be upgrading the virtualization software.Corresponding NFVI hardware may be a hard disk or a flash memory, andmodifying hardware may be modification such as adding a hard disk or aflash memory.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the performing, by the VIM, anoperation of terminating a to-be-changed NFV resource includes: S1:terminating one or more basic NFV resource units in the to-be-changedNFV resource, where a quantity of remaining basic NFV resource unitsafter the one or more basic NFV resource units in the to-be-changed NFVresource are terminated cannot be less than a predetermined minimumquantity; S2: removing the terminated NFV resource from a resource poolmanaged by the VIM, that is, removing an internal management object(internal management objects) corresponding to the terminated NFVresource. For a specific method for performing the “termination” action,refer to descriptions in the standard.

Optionally, in another embodiment, after learning that a serviceassociated with the terminated to-be-changed NFV resource has beenrestored to a new NFV resource, the VIM performs the actions in S1 andS2, and modifies the NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to theterminated NFV resource. The process is repeated, so that allto-be-changed NFV resources are terminated, modification of NFVIsoftware and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resourcesis completed, and services associated with the terminated to-be-changedNFV resources are restored to new NFV resources.

For example, it is assumed that a user uses 10 basic NFV resource unitsrespectively numbered 1, 2, 3, 4, . . . , and 10, and there are fourto-be-changed basic NFV resource units respectively numbered 1, 2, 3,and 4. It is assumed that a predetermined minimum quantity is 8. In thiscase, step S1 may be first performed to terminate one or two basic NFVresource units (because a quantity of remaining basic NFV resource unitsafter termination cannot be less than 8), for example, terminate twobasic NFV resource units in this embodiment. Then, a removal operationin S2 is performed (to be specific, the two basic NFV resource units areremoved from the resource pool managed by the VIM). Next, NFVI softwareand/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFV resource are/ismodified, so that the modified NFVI software and/or hardware can be usedas a new NFV resource subsequently.

In addition, after the termination action in S1 and the removal actionin S2 are performed, the EM may apply to the VIM for a new NFV resourceby using the VNFM, and allocate the new NFV resource to the VNF; and theVNF restores, to the applied-for NFV resource, a part or all of aservice associated with the terminated NFV resource (in other words, theservice on the terminated NFV resource is restored to the applied-fornew NFV resource). In this embodiment, two new NFV resourcesrespectively numbered 11 and 12 may be applied for (certainly, more orfewer NFV resources may alternatively be applied for), and then, a partor all of services associated with the NFV resources numbered 1 and 2may be restored to the NFV resources numbered 11 and 12.

In this application, the VIM monitors a running status of the VNF, andperforms the termination operation in S1 and the removal operation in S2after learning that the VNF restores the service. Specifically, becausethere are four to-be-changed basic NFV resource units, two basic NFVresource units need to be terminated subsequently. In this case, theforegoing process may be repeated. For example, basic NFV resource unitsnumbered 3 and 4 are terminated and removed. Then, services associatedwith the basic NFV resource units numbered 3 and 4 are restored to a newNFV resource (namely, a basic NFV resource unit, for example, theservices are restored to a new basic NFV resource unit numbered 13), andthen NFVI software and/or hardware corresponding to the terminated NFVresources are/is modified.

Termination performed in this way can avoid, to a greatest extent,impact made on a service. To be specific, in a process of upgrading abasic NFV resource unit, some basic NFV resource units can still provideservice support (for example, basic NFV resource units numbered 1 and 2are terminated first, and basic NFV resource units numbered 3 to 10 canstill provide service support).

808. The EM instructs the VNFM to perform VNF instantiation/scale-out,to restore an affected object to a state that is before deletion.

Specifically, the EM instructs the VNFM to create new VNF instantiationor perform VNF scale-out. For example, the EM sends a scale-out requestto the VNFM, to request to restore the object affected by the change ofthe NFV resource to the state that is before deletion.

809. The VNFM applies to the VIM for a resource.

Specifically, after receiving the scale-out request, the VNFM sends aresource request to the VIM, to perform VNF scale-out or instantiation.After receiving the request, the VIM allocates a resource, to completeVNF instantiation or VNF scale-out.

810. The VNFM reports a VNF instantiation/scale-out result to the EM.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when the NFV resourceis to change, the VNFM sends the NFVI modification policy to the VIM, toavoid a problem that a service is affected because the VIM directlymigrates the service. In this way, in this embodiment of thisapplication, impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice is avoided, a highly-reliable service is not interrupted when anNFVI changes, normal running of the service is ensured, and userexperience is improved.

In a method shown in FIG. 9, the NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification solution is described by using an example in which a firstnetwork element is an NFVO and a second network element is an OSS. Itshould be understood that the solution in FIG. 9 is similar to that inFIG. 8, and a difference lies in that in FIG. 9, the first networkelement is the NFVO and the second network element is the OSS, but inFIG. 8, the first network element is the VNFM and the second networkelement is the EM. For actions performed by the first network element,the second network element, and the VIM in FIG. 9, refer to thedescriptions in FIG. 8. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions areappropriately omitted herein. Specifically, the method shown in FIG. 9includes the following steps.

901. The OSS determines that a VNF software package is uploaded to anNFV software management system, and determines that an applet generatingan NFVI software and/or hardware modification policy is carried in theVNF software package.

902. The OSS sends a VNF instantiation request to the NFVO.

903. A VIM registers with the NFVO for the NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification policy, and the NFVO replies to the registration.

904. The VIM sends an NFV resource change notification to the NFVO.

905. The NFVO generates first constraint information.

906. The NFVO sends a first notification message to the VIM.

907. The VIM modifies NFVI software and/or hardware based on the firstconstraint information.

908. The OSS instructs the NFVO to perform VNF instantiation/scale-out,to restore an affected object to a state that is before deletion.

909. The NFVO applies to the VIM for a resource.

910. The NFVO reports a VNF instantiation/scale-out result to the OSS.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, the NFVO sends the NFVI modification policy to the VIM, toavoid a problem that a service is affected because the VIM directlymigrates the service. In this way, in this embodiment of thisapplication, impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice is avoided, a highly-reliable service is not interrupted when anNFVI changes, normal running of the service is ensured, and userexperience is improved.

It should be understood that the foregoing examples in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9are merely used to help a person skilled in the art understand theembodiments of the present invention, but are not intended to limit theembodiments of the present invention to a specific value or a specificscenario in the examples. A person skilled in the art apparently canmake various equivalent modifications or changes according to theexamples shown in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9, and such modifications or changesalso fall within the scope of the embodiments of the present invention.

It should be understood that in the foregoing embodiments, sequencenumbers of the processes do not represent an execution sequence. Theexecution sequence of the processes should be determined according tofunctions and internal logic of the processes. The sequence numbersshould be construed as any limitation on the implementation processes ofthe embodiments of the present invention.

It should also be understood that FIG. 2 to FIG. 9 in the foregoingdescription may be independent examples. Optionally, a person skilled inthe art may perform variations, such as combining, nesting, orintegrating, on the examples in FIG. 2 to FIG. 9, and such modificationsor changes also fall within the scope of the embodiments of the presentinvention.

It should also be understood that “first” and “second” in thisspecification are merely used for differentiation, and should not beconsidered as a limitation on this application. It should also beunderstood that in the embodiments of this application, terms ofmessages can be flexibly changed provided that functions of the messagesare the functions of the messages described above. The embodiments ofthis application are not limited thereto. For example, the “notificationmessage” may also be referred to as an indication message, a requestmessage, a notification, a notification indication, a first message, anda second message. The “request message” may also be referred to as anindication message, a notification message, a notification, anotification indication, a first message, and a second message. The“policy indication message” may also be referred to as a notificationmessage, an indication message notification, a notification indication,a first message, and a second message.

FIG. 10 is a schematic block diagram of a first network elementaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. A first networkelement 1000 shown in FIG. 10 includes a processing unit 1010 and atransceiver unit 1020.

Specifically, the processing unit is configured to determine an objectaffected by a change of a network function virtualization NFV resource,where the object affected by the change of the NFV resource is avirtualized network function VNF instance, a virtualized networkfunction component VNFC instance, or a network service NS instanceassociated with the virtualized network function VNF instance, and theNFV resource includes at least one of the following resources: a virtualcomputing resource, a virtual storage resource, and a virtual networkresource.

The transceiver unit is configured to send, to a second network element,a first notification message used to indicate NFV resource maintenance,where the first notification message carries identification informationof the object affected by the change of the NFV resource, so that thesecond network element manages a service in the object affected by thechange of the NFV resource.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when the NFV resourceis to change, the first network element reports the first notificationmessage to the second network element, and the second network elementmanages the service in the object affected by the change of the NFVresource, to avoid impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice, ensure normal running of the service, and improve userexperience.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the transceiver unit is furtherconfigured to: before sending, to the second network element, the firstnotification message used to indicate NFV resource maintenance, receivea first request message that is used to subscribe to an NFV resourcemaintenance notification and that is sent by the second network element,where the first request message is used to request the first networkelement to send the first notification message when the NFV resource isto change.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first request message carriesidentification information of a first object set, and the first objectset includes at least one of the following objects: a virtualizednetwork function VNF instance, a virtualized network function componentVNFC instance, and a network service NS instance associated with thevirtualized network function VNF instance; and the transceiver unit isspecifically configured to: when it is determined that the objectaffected by the change of the NFV resource belongs to the first objectset, send, to the second network element, the first notification messageused to indicate NFV resource maintenance.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first request message furthercarries an additional parameter, and the additional parameter includesat least one of the following parameters: event information indicatingthat the NFV resource is to change, an attribute of the to-be-changedNFV resource, and a time that needs to be reserved for processing due tothe change of the NFV resource. The attribute of the to-be-changed NFVresource indicates that the to-be-changed NFV resource is a virtualcomputing resource, a virtual storage resource, or a virtual networkresource, and the event information indicating that the NFV resource isto change includes at least one piece of the following information: NFVIsoftware upgrade, NFVI hardware repair, and NFVI hardware maintenance.

The additional parameter and the identification information of the firstobject set are carried in a filter in the first request message.

The first notification message further includes at least one type ofparameter in the additional parameter to which the second networkelement subscribes and that is corresponding to the to-be-changed NFVresource.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the transceiver unit is furtherconfigured to: after sending, to the second network element, the firstnotification message used to indicate NFV resource maintenance, send, toa virtualized infrastructure manager VIM, a second request message usedto request to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, where the secondrequest message carries first constraint information used to modify NFVIsoftware and/or hardware.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first notification messagefurther carries a number of the to-be-changed NFV resource. The firstconstraint information includes a second change identifier of an NFVresource. The NFV resource includes at least one NFV resource group, theNFV resource group includes at least one basic NFV resource unit, andthe basic NFV resource unit is a basic unit for virtual computing, abasic unit for virtual storage, or a basic unit for virtualcommunication. The second change identifier of the NFV resource iscorresponding to the number that is of the to-be-changed NFV resourceand that is carried in the first notification message, and the NFVresource includes the to-be-changed NFV resource.

The first constraint information further includes at least one piece ofthe following information: an identifier of the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource,an identifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in an NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the NFV resource includes a virtualcomputing resource, and the basic unit for virtual computing is avirtual computing container; or the NFV resource includes a virtualstorage resource, and the basic unit for virtual storage is a virtualstorage container; or the NFV resource includes a virtual communicationresource, and the basic unit for virtual communication is a virtual linkVL.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the transceiver unit is furtherconfigured to: before sending, to the VIM, the second request messageused to request to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, receive apolicy indication message that is used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware and that is sent by the second network element, where thepolicy indication message carries second constraint information used tomodify NFVI software and/or hardware, and the first constraintinformation is generated by the processing unit by converting the secondconstraint information.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first notification messagefurther carries the number of the to-be-changed NFV resource, and thesecond constraint information includes a first change identifier of anNFV resource and at least one of the following parameters: an identifierof an NS instance, an identifier of at least one VNF instance in the NSinstance, an identifier of at least one group of VNFC instance in the atleast one VNF instance, an identifier of at least one VNFC instance inthe at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinityrule between the at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the VNFC instance in each of the at least onegroup of VNFC instance, a minimum quantity of VNFC instances that needto be reserved in each group of VNFC instance in the NFVI softwareand/or hardware modification process, a condition for constrainingmigration of the VNFC, an identifier of at least one group of virtuallink VL, an identifier of at least one virtual link VL in the at leastone group of virtual link VL, an affinity or anti-affinity rule betweenthe at least one group of virtual link VL, an affinity or anti-affinityrule between the virtual link VL in the at least one group of virtuallink VL, and a minimum quantity of virtual links VLs that need to bereserved in each of the at least one group of virtual link VL in theNFVI software and/or hardware modification process. The first changeidentifier of the NFV resource is corresponding to the number that is ofthe to-be-changed NFV resource and that is carried in the firstnotification message, and the object affected by the change of the NFVresource belongs to the NS instance, the at least one VNF instance inthe NS instance, or the at least one group of VNFC instance in the atleast one VNF instance.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first network element is an NFVorchestrator NFVO, and the second network element is an operationssupport system OSS; or the first network element is a VNF manager VNFM,and the second network element is an element management system EM.

It should be understood that the first network element shown in FIG. 10can implement the processes of the first network element in the methodembodiments in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6B. Operations and/or functions of themodules in the first network element 1000 are respectively used toimplement corresponding procedures in the method embodiments in FIG. 2to FIG. 6B. For details, refer to the descriptions in the methodembodiments. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions areappropriately omitted herein.

FIG. 11 is a schematic block diagram of a second network elementaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. A second networkelement 1100 shown in FIG. 11 includes a processing unit 1110 and atransceiver unit 1120.

Specifically, the transceiver unit is configured to receive a firstnotification message that is used to indicate network functionvirtualization NFV resource maintenance and that is sent by a firstnetwork element, where the first notification message carriesidentification information of an object affected by a change of the NFVresource, the object affected by the change of the NFV resource is avirtualized network function VNF instance, a virtualized networkfunction component VNFC instance, or a network service NS instanceassociated with the virtualized network function VNF instance, and theNFV resource includes at least one of the following resources: a virtualcomputing resource, a virtual storage resource, and a virtual networkresource. The processing unit is configured to manage a service in theobject affected by the change of the NFV resource.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when the NFV resourceis to change, the first network element reports the first notificationmessage to the second network element, and the second network elementmanages the service in the object affected by the change of the NFVresource, to avoid impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice, ensure normal running of the service, and improve userexperience.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the transceiver unit is furtherconfigured to: before receiving the first notification message that isused to indicate network function virtualization NFV resourcemaintenance and that is sent by the first network element, send, to thefirst network element, a first request message used to subscribe to anNFV resource maintenance notification, where the first request messageis used to request the first network element to send the firstnotification message when the NFV resource is to change.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first request message carriesidentification information of a first object set, and the first objectset includes at least one of the following objects: a virtualizednetwork function VNF instance, a virtualized network function componentVNFC instance, and a network service NS instance associated with thevirtualized network function VNF instance; and the object affected bythe change of the NFV resource belongs to the first object set.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first request message furthercarries an additional parameter, and the additional parameter includesat least one of the following parameters: event information indicatingthat the NFV resource is to change, an attribute of the to-be-changedNFV resource, and a time that needs to be reserved for processing due tothe change of the NFV resource. The attribute of the to-be-changed NFVresource indicates that the to-be-changed NFV resource is a virtualcomputing resource, a virtual storage resource, or a virtual networkresource, and the event information indicating that the NFV resource isto change includes at least one piece of the following information: NFVIsoftware upgrade, NFVI hardware repair, and NFVI hardware maintenance.The additional parameter and the identification information of the firstobject set are carried in a filter in the first request message, and thefirst notification message further includes at least one type ofparameter in the additional parameter to which the second networkelement subscribes and that is corresponding to the to-be-changed NFVresource.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the processing unit is specificallyconfigured to control the transceiver unit to send, to the first networkelement, a policy indication message used to request to modify NFVIsoftware and/or hardware, where the policy indication message carriessecond constraint information used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware, and first constraint information is generated by the firstnetwork element by converting the second constraint information.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first notification messagefurther carries a number of the to-be-changed NFV resource, and thesecond constraint information includes a first change identifier of anNFV resource and at least one of the following parameters: an identifierof an NS instance, an identifier of at least one VNF instance in the NSinstance, an identifier of at least one group of VNFC instance in the atleast one VNF instance, an identifier of at least one VNFC instance inthe at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinityrule between the at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the VNFC instance in each of the at least onegroup of VNFC instance, a minimum quantity of VNFC instances that needto be reserved in each group of VNFC instance in an NFVI software and/orhardware modification process, a condition for constraining migration ofthe VNFC, an identifier of at least one group of virtual link VL, anidentifier of at least one virtual link VL in the at least one group ofvirtual link VL, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone group of virtual link VL, an affinity or anti-affinity rule betweenthe virtual link VL in the at least one group of virtual link VL, and aminimum quantity of virtual links VLs that need to be reserved in eachof the at least one group of virtual link VL in the NFVI software and/orhardware modification process. The first change identifier of the NFVresource is corresponding to the number that is of the to-be-changed NFVresource and that is carried in the first notification message, and theobject affected by the change of the NFV resource belongs to the NSinstance, the at least one VNF instance in the NS instance, or the atleast one group of VNFC instance in the at least one VNF instance.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first network element is an NFVorchestrator NFVO, and the second network element is an operationssupport system OSS; or the first network element is a VNF manager VNFM,and the second network element is an element management system EM.

It should be understood that the second network element shown in FIG. 11can implement the processes of the second network element in the methodembodiments in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6B. Operations and/or functions of themodules in the second network element 1100 are respectively used toimplement corresponding procedures in the method embodiments in FIG. 2to FIG. 6B. For details, refer to the descriptions in the methodembodiments. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions areappropriately omitted herein.

FIG. 12 is a schematic block diagram of a first network elementaccording to an embodiment of the present invention. A first networkelement 1200 shown in FIG. 12 includes a processing unit 1210 and atransceiver unit 1220.

Specifically, the processing unit is configured to: after receiving anetwork function virtualization NFV resource change notification sent bya virtualized infrastructure manager VIM, generate first constraintinformation used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware; and thetransceiver unit is configured to send a first notification message tothe VIM, where the first notification message carries the firstconstraint information, and the first constraint information is used bythe VIM to modify NFVI software and/or hardware based on the firstconstraint information.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, the first network element sends, to the VIM, theconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, toavoid a problem that a service is affected because the VIM directlymigrates the service. In this way, in this embodiment of thisapplication, impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice is avoided, a highly-reliable service is not interrupted when anNFVI changes, normal running of the service is ensured, and userexperience is improved.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the transceiver unit is furtherconfigured to: before sending the first notification message to the VIM,receive a subscription request message sent by the VIM, where thesubscription request message is used to subscribe to constraintinformation used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware; and send areply message to the VIM, where the reply message is used to indicatethat the VIM successfully subscribes to the constraint information.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first constraint informationincludes a change identifier of an NFV resource.

The NFV resource includes at least one NFV resource group, the NFVresource group includes at least one basic NFV resource unit, and thebasic NFV resource unit is a basic unit for virtual computing, a basicunit for virtual storage, or a basic unit for virtual communication. Thechange identifier is corresponding to a number carried in the NFVresource change notification sent by the VIM, and the NFV resourceincludes the to-be-changed NFV resource.

The first constraint information further includes at least one piece ofthe following information: an identifier of the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource,an identifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in an NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the NFV resource includes a virtualcomputing resource, and correspondingly the basic unit for virtualcomputing is a virtual computing container; or the NFV resource includesa virtual storage resource, and correspondingly the basic unit forvirtual storage is a virtual storage container; or the NFV resourceincludes a virtual communication resource, and correspondingly the basicunit for virtual communication is a virtual link VL.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the processing unit is specificallyconfigured to: after receiving the NFV resource change notification sentby the VIM, query for real-time running status data of a virtualizednetwork function VNF, and generate second constraint information basedon a virtualized network function descriptor VNFD; and convert thesecond constraint information into the first constraint information.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the second constraint informationincludes at least one of the following parameters: an identifier of atleast one VNF instance, an identifier of at least one group of VNFCinstance in the at least one VNF instance, an identifier of at least oneVNFC instance in the at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the at least one group of VNFC instance, anaffinity or anti-affinity rule between the VNFC instance in each of theat least one group of VNFC instance, a minimum quantity of VNFCinstances that need to be reserved in each group of VNFC instance in theNFVI software and/or hardware modification process, an identifier of atleast one group of virtual link VL, an identifier of at least onevirtual link VL in the at least one group of virtual link VL, anaffinity or anti-affinity rule between the at least one group of virtuallink VL, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the virtual link VLin the at least one group of virtual link VL, a minimum quantity ofvirtual links VLs that need to be reserved in each of the at least onegroup of virtual link VL in the NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of theVNFC; and the processing unit is specifically configured to: generatethe second constraint information by using a VNF life cycle that isdelivered by using the VNFD; and convert the second constraint into thefirst constraint information based on a correspondence between a VNFinstance and an NFV resource.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first network element is an NFVorchestrator NFVO, and correspondingly the NFV resource changenotification is received by the transceiver unit directly by using theVIM; or the first network element is a VNF manager VNFM, andcorrespondingly the NFV resource change notification is received by thetransceiver unit directly by using the VIM, or the NFV resource changenotification is received by the transceiver unit indirectly by using anNFVO.

It should be understood that the first network element shown in FIG. 12can implement the processes of the first network element in the methodembodiments in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9. Operations and/or functions of themodules in the first network element 1200 are respectively used toimplement corresponding procedures in the method embodiments in FIG. 7to FIG. 9. For details, refer to the descriptions in the methodembodiments. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptions areappropriately omitted herein.

FIG. 13 is a schematic block diagram of a VIM according to an embodimentof the present invention. A VIM 1300 shown in FIG. 13 includes aprocessing unit 1310 and a transceiver unit 1320.

Specifically, the transceiver unit is configured to receive a firstnotification message sent by a first network element, where the firstnotification message carries first constraint information used to modifynetwork function virtualization infrastructure NFVI software and/orhardware. The processing unit is configured to modify NFVI softwareand/or hardware based on the first constraint information.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, the first network element sends, to the VIM, theconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, toavoid a problem that a service is affected because the VIM directlymigrates the service. In this way, in this embodiment of thisapplication, impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice is avoided, a highly-reliable service is not interrupted when anNFVI changes, normal running of the service is ensured, and userexperience is improved.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the transceiver unit is furtherconfigured to: before receiving the first notification message sent bythe first network element, send a first subscription request message tothe first network element, where the first subscription request messageis used to subscribe to constraint information used to modify NFVIsoftware and/or hardware; and receive a reply message sent by the firstnetwork element, where the reply message is used to indicate that theVIM successfully subscribes to the constraint information.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first constraint informationincludes a change identifier of an NFV resource, and the NFV resourceincludes at least one NFV resource group. The NFV resource groupincludes at least one basic NFV resource unit, and the basic NFVresource unit is a basic unit for virtual computing, a basic unit forvirtual storage, or a basic unit for virtual communication. The changeidentifier is corresponding to a number carried in the NFV resourcechange notification sent by the VIM, and the NFV resource includes theto-be-changed NFV resource.

The first constraint information further includes at least one piece ofthe following information: an identifier of the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource,an identifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in an NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the NFV resource includes a virtualcomputing resource, and correspondingly the basic NFV resource unit is avirtual computing container; or the NFV resource includes a virtualstorage resource, and correspondingly the basic NFV resource unit is avirtual storage container; or the NFV resource includes a virtualcommunication resource, and correspondingly the basic NFV resource unitis a virtual link VL.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the processing unit is specificallyconfigured to: delete the NFV resource and stop deletion when a quantityof NFV resources reaches the minimum quantity of basic NFV resourceunits that need to be reserved, modify NFVI software and/or hardwarecorresponding to a deleted NFV resource; and after learning that a VNFfault management system instructs a service system to restore a serviceon the deleted NFV resource to a state that is before deletion, repeatthe deletion process and the modification process until modification ofall NFVI software and/or hardware is completed.

Optionally, in another embodiment, the first network element is an NFVorchestrator NFVO, or the first network element is a VNF manager VNFM.

It should be understood that the VIM shown in FIG. 13 can implement theprocesses of the VIM in the method embodiments in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9.Operations and/or functions of the modules in the VIM 1300 arerespectively used to implement corresponding procedures in the methodembodiments in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9. For details, refer to the descriptionsin the method embodiments. To avoid repetition, detailed descriptionsare appropriately omitted herein.

FIG. 14 is a schematic block diagram of a first network element 1400according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, asshown in FIG. 14, the first network element 1400 includes a processor1410 and a transceiver 1420, where the processor 1410 is connected tothe transceiver 1420. Optionally, the first network element 1400 furtherincludes a memory 1430, where the memory 1430 is connected to theprocessor 1410. The processor 1410, the memory 1430, and the transceiver1420 communicate with each other by using an internal connection path,to transmit control and/or data signals. The memory 1430 may beconfigured to store an instruction. The processor 1410 is configured toexecute the instruction stored in the memory 1430, to control thetransceiver 1420 to receive and send information or signals. Whenexecuting the instruction in the memory 1430, the controller 1410 cancomplete the processes involving the first network element in the methodembodiments in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6B. To avoid repetition, details are notdescribed herein again.

It should be understood that the first network element 1400 may becorresponding to the first network element 1000 in FIG. 10, the functionof the processing unit 1010 in the first network element 1000 may beimplemented by the processor 1410, and the function of the transceiverunit 1020 may be implemented by the transceiver 1420.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, the first network element reports a first notificationmessage to a second network element, and the second network elementmanages a service in an object affected by the change of the NFVresource, to avoid impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice, ensure normal running of the service, and improve userexperience.

FIG. 15 is a schematic block diagram of a second network element 1500according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, asshown in FIG. 15, the second network element 1500 includes a processor1510 and a transceiver 1520, where the processor 1510 is connected tothe transceiver 1520. Optionally, the second network element 1500further includes a memory 1530, where the memory 1530 is connected tothe processor 1510. The processor 1510, the memory 1530, and thetransceiver 1520 communicate with each other by using an internalconnection path, to transmit control and/or data signals. The memory1530 may be configured to store an instruction. The processor 1510 isconfigured to execute the instruction stored in the memory 1530, tocontrol the transceiver 1520 to receive and send information or signals.When executing the instruction in the memory 1530, the controller 1510can complete the processes involving the second network element in themethod embodiments in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6B. To avoid repetition, detailsare not described herein again.

It should be understood that the second network element 1500 may becorresponding to the second network element 1100 in FIG. 11, thefunction of the processing unit 1110 in the second network element 1100may be implemented by the processor 1510, and the function of thetransceiver unit 1120 may be implemented by the transceiver 1520.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, a first network element reports a first notificationmessage to the second network element, and the second network elementmanages a service in an object affected by the change of the NFVresource, to avoid impact made by the change of the NFV resource on theservice, ensure normal running of the service, and improve userexperience.

FIG. 16 is a schematic block diagram of a first network element 1600according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, asshown in FIG. 16, the first network element 1600 includes a processor1610 and a transceiver 1620, where the processor 1610 is connected tothe transceiver 1620. Optionally, the first network element 1600 furtherincludes a memory 1630, where the memory 1630 is connected to theprocessor 1610. The processor 1610, the memory 1630, and the transceiver1620 communicate with each other by using an internal connection path,to transmit control and/or data signals. The memory 1630 may beconfigured to store an instruction. The processor 1610 is configured toexecute the instruction stored in the memory 1630, to control thetransceiver 1620 to receive and send information or signals. Whenexecuting the instruction in the memory 1630, the controller 1610 cancomplete the processes involving the first network element in the methodembodiments in FIG. 2 to FIG. 6B. To avoid repetition, details are notdescribed herein again.

It should be understood that the first network element 1600 may becorresponding to the first network element 1200 in FIG. 12, the functionof the processing unit 1210 in the first network element 1200 may beimplemented by the processor 1610, and the function of the transceiverunit 1220 may be implemented by the transceiver 1620.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, the first network element sends, to a VIM, constraintinformation used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, to avoid aproblem that a service is affected because the VIM directly migrates theservice. In this way, in this embodiment of this application, impactmade by the change of the NFV resource on the service is avoided, ahighly-reliable service is not interrupted when an NFVI changes, normalrunning of the service is ensured, and user experience is improved.

FIG. 17 is a schematic block diagram of a VIM 1700 according to anembodiment of the present invention. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 17,the VIM 1700 includes a processor 1710 and a transceiver 1720, where theprocessor 1710 is connected to the transceiver 1720. Optionally, the VIM1700 further includes a memory 1730, where the memory 1730 is connectedto the processor 1710. The processor 1710, the memory 1730, and thetransceiver 1720 communicate with each other by using an internalconnection path, to transmit control and/or data signals. The memory1730 may be configured to store an instruction. The processor 1710 isconfigured to execute the instruction stored in the memory 1730, tocontrol the transceiver 1720 to receive and send information or signals.When executing the instruction in the memory 1730, the controller 1710can complete the processes involving the VIM in the method embodimentsin FIG. 2 to FIG. 6B. To avoid repetition, details are not describedherein again.

It should be understood that the VIM 1700 may be corresponding to theVIM 1300 in FIG. 13, the function of the processing unit 1310 in the VIM1300 may be implemented by the processor 1710, and the function of thetransceiver unit 1320 may be implemented by the transceiver 1720.

Therefore, in this embodiment of this application, when an NFV resourceis to change, a first network element sends, to the VIM, constraintinformation used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware, to avoid aproblem that a service is affected because the VIM directly migrates theservice. In this way, in this embodiment of this application, impactmade by the change of the NFV resource on the service is avoided, ahighly-reliable service is not interrupted when an NFVI changes, normalrunning of the service is ensured, and user experience is improved.

It should be noted that the processor (for example, the processors inFIG. 14 to FIG. 17) in the embodiments of the present invention may bean integrated circuit chip that has a signal processing capability. Inan implementation process, steps in the foregoing method embodiments canbe implemented by using a hardware integrated logic circuit in theprocessor, or by using instructions in a form of software. The processormay be a general-purpose processor, a digital signal processor (digitalsignal processor, DSP), an application-specific integrated circuit(application specific integrated circuit, ASIC), a field programmablegate array (field programmable gate array, FPGA) or another programmablelogic device, a discrete gate or transistor logic device, or a discretehardware component. The processor may implement or perform the methods,the steps, and the logical block diagrams that are disclosed in theembodiments of the present invention. The general-purpose processor maybe a microprocessor, or the processor may be any conventional processoror the like. Steps of the methods disclosed with reference to theembodiments of the present invention may be directly executed andaccomplished by using a hardware decoding processor, or may be executedand accomplished by using a combination of hardware in a decodingprocessor and a software module. A software module may be located in amature storage medium in the art such as a random access memory, a flashmemory, a read-only memory, a programmable read-only memory, anelectrically erasable programmable memory, or a register. The storagemedium is located in the memory, and a processor reads information inthe memory and completes the steps in the foregoing methods incombination with hardware of the processor.

It may be understood that the memory (for example, the memories in FIG.14 to FIG. 17) in the embodiments of the present invention may be avolatile memory or a nonvolatile memory, or may include both a volatilememory and a nonvolatile memory. The nonvolatile memory may be aread-only memory (read-only memory, ROM), a programmable read-onlymemory (programmable ROM, PROM), an erasable programmable read-onlymemory (erasable PROM, EPROM), an electrically erasable programmableread-only memory (electrically EPROM, EEPROM), or a flash memory. Thevolatile memory may be a random access memory (random access memory,RAM), used as an external cache. As examples rather than limitativedescriptions, many forms of RAMs may be used, for example, a staticrandom access memory (static RAM, SRAM), a dynamic random access memory(dynamic RAM, DRAM), a synchronous dynamic random access memory(synchronous DRAM, SDRAM), a double data rate synchronous dynamic randomaccess memory (double data rate SDRAM, DDR SDRAM), an enhancedsynchronous dynamic random access memory (enhanced SDRAM, ESDRAM), asynchronous link dynamic random access memory (synchlink DRAM, SLDRAM),and a direct rambus dynamic random access memory (direct rambus RAM, DRRAM). It should be noted that the memory of the systems and methodsdescribed in this specification includes but is not limited to thesememories and any other type of proper memory.

It should be understood that the transceiver unit or the transceiver inthe embodiments of the present invention may also be referred to as acommunications unit.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides acomputer-readable medium. The computer-readable medium stores a computerprogram, and when the computer program is being executed by a computer,the computer program implements the method in any of the foregoingmethod embodiments.

An embodiment of the present invention further provides a computerprogram product. When computer program product is being executed by acomputer, the computer program product implements the method in any ofthe foregoing method embodiments.

All or some of the foregoing embodiments may be implemented by software,hardware, firmware, or any combination thereof. When software is used toimplement the embodiments, the embodiments may be implemented completelyor partially in a form of a computer program product. The computerprogram product includes one or more computer instructions. When thecomputer instructions are loaded and executed on a computer, theprocedures or functions according to the embodiments of the presentinvention are all or partially generated. The computer may be ageneral-purpose computer, a dedicated computer, a computer network, oranother programmable apparatus. The computer instructions may be storedin a computer-readable storage medium or may be transmitted from acomputer-readable storage medium to another computer-readable storagemedium. For example, the computer instructions may be transmitted from awebsite, computer, server, or data center to another website, computer,server, or data center in a wired (for example, a coaxial cable, anoptical fiber, or a digital subscriber line (digital subscriber line,DSL)) or wireless (for example, infrared, radio, or microwave) manner.The computer-readable storage medium may be any available mediumaccessible by a computer, or a data storage device, such as a server ora data center, integrating one or more available media. The availablemedium may be a magnetic medium (for example, a floppy disk, a harddisk, or a magnetic tape), an optical medium (for example, ahigh-density digital video disc (digital video disc, DVD), asemiconductor medium (for example, a solid state disk (solid state disk,SSD)), or the like.

It should be understood that the processing apparatus may be a chip. Theprocessor may be implemented by hardware or software. When the processoris implemented by hardware, the processor may be a logic circuit, anintegrated circuit, or the like. When the processor is implemented bysoftware, the processor may be a general-purpose processor, and may beimplemented by reading software code stored in the memory. The memorymay be integrated into the processor, or may be located outside theprocessor and exist independently.

FIG. 18 is a schematic block diagram of a network functionvirtualization NFV system according to an embodiment of the presentinvention. An NFV system 1800 shown in FIG. 18 includes a first networkelement 1810, a second network element 1820, and an NFVI 1830.

Specifically, the first network element 1810 is corresponding to thefirst network element shown in FIG. 10, FIG. 12, FIG. 14, or FIG. 16,and the second network element 1820 is corresponding to the secondnetwork element shown in FIG. 11 or FIG. 13 or the second networkelement in the method embodiments in FIG. 7 to FIG. 9. When a resourceof the NFVI 1830 is to change, the second network element 1820 notifiesthe first network element 1810, and the first network element 1810 mayperform service management, to avoid service interruption.

It should be understood that the NFV system shown in FIG. 18 is similarto the system shown in FIG. 1, and may further include other functioncomponents. For example, the NFV system may further include a VIM 1840.This embodiment of this application is not limited thereto. The NFVsystem shown in FIG. 18 can implement the processes in the methodembodiments in FIG. 2 to FIG. 9. Operations and/or functions of themodules in the NFV system 1800 are respectively used to implementcorresponding procedures in the method embodiments in FIG. 2 to FIG. 9.For details, refer to the descriptions in the method embodiments. Toavoid repetition, detailed descriptions are appropriately omittedherein.

It should be understood that “one embodiment” or “an embodiment”mentioned in the whole specification means that particular features,structures, or characteristics related to the embodiment are included inat least one embodiment of the present invention. Therefore, “in oneembodiment” or “in an embodiment” throughout the specification does notnecessarily refer to a same embodiment. In addition, these particularfeatures, structures, or characteristics may be combined in one or moreembodiments in any appropriate manner. It should be understood that inthe embodiments of the present invention, sequence numbers of theforegoing processes do not mean an execution sequence. The executionsequence of the processes should be determined according to functionsand internal logic of the processes, and should not be construed as anylimitation on the implementation processes of the embodiments of thepresent invention.

In addition, the terms “system” and “network” may be usedinterchangeably in this specification. The term “and/or” in thisspecification describes only an association relationship for describingassociated objects and represents that three relationships may exist.For example, A and/or B may represent the following three cases: Only Aexists, both A and B exist, and only B exists. In addition, thecharacter “/” in this specification generally indicates an “or”relationship between the associated objects.

It should be understood that in the embodiments of the presentinvention, “B corresponding to A” indicates that B is associated with A,and B may be determined according to A. However, it should also beunderstood that determining B according to A does not mean that B isdetermined only according to A. B may alternatively be determinedaccording to A and/or other information.

A person of ordinary skill in the art may be aware that, with referenceto the examples described in the embodiments disclosed in thisspecification, units and algorithm steps may be implemented byelectronic hardware, computer software, or a combination thereof. Toclearly describe the interchangeability between the hardware and thesoftware, the foregoing has generally described compositions and stepsof each example according to functions. Whether the functions areperformed by hardware or software depends on particular applications anddesign constraints of the technical solutions. A person skilled in theart may use a different method to implement the described functions foreach particular application, but it should not be considered that theimplementation goes beyond the scope of the present invention.

It may be clearly understood by a person skilled in the art that, forthe purpose of convenient and brief description, for a specific workingprocess of the foregoing system, apparatus, and unit, refer to acorresponding process in the foregoing method embodiments. Details arenot described herein again.

In the several embodiments provided in this application, it should beunderstood that the disclosed system, apparatus, and method may beimplemented in other manners. For example, the described apparatusembodiment is merely an example. For example, the unit division ismerely logical function division and may be other division in actualimplementation. For example, a plurality of units or components may becombined or integrated into another system, or some features may beignored or not performed. In addition, the displayed or discussed mutualcouplings or direct couplings or communication connections may beimplemented through some interfaces. The indirect couplings orcommunication connections between the apparatuses or units may beelectrical connections, mechanical connections, or connections in otherforms.

The units described as separate parts may or may not be physicallyseparate, and parts displayed as units may or may not be physical units,may be located in one position, or may be distributed on a plurality ofnetwork units. Some or all of the units may be selected according toactual requirements to achieve the objectives of the solutions of theembodiments of the present invention.

In addition, functional units in the embodiments of the presentinvention may be integrated into one processing unit, or each of theunits may exist alone physically, or at least two units are integratedinto one unit. The integrated unit may be implemented in a form ofhardware, or may be implemented in a form of a software functional unit.

With descriptions of the foregoing implementations, a person skilled inthe art may clearly understand that the present invention may beimplemented by hardware, firmware, or a combination thereof. When thepresent invention is implemented by software, the foregoing functionsmay be stored in a computer-readable medium or transmitted as one ormore instructions or code in the computer-readable medium. Thecomputer-readable medium includes a computer storage medium and acommunications medium, where the communications medium includes anymedium that enables a computer program to be transmitted from one placeto another. The storage medium may be any available medium accessible bya computer. The following provides an example but does not impose alimitation: The computer-readable medium may include a RAM, a ROM, anEEPROM, a CD-ROM, or another optical disc storage, a magnetic diskstorage medium or another magnetic storage device, or any other mediumthat can carry or store expected program code in a form of aninstruction or a data structure and that is accessible by a computer. Inaddition, any connection may be appropriately defined as acomputer-readable medium. For example, if software is transmitted from awebsite, a server, or another remote source by using a coaxial cable, anoptical fiber/cable, a twisted pair, a digital subscriber line (DSL), orwireless technologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave, thecoaxial cable, optical fiber/cable, twisted pair, DSL, or wirelesstechnologies such as infrared, radio, and microwave are included indefinition of a medium to which they belong. For example, a disk (Disk)and disc (disc) used in the present invention include a compact disc(CD), a laser disc, an optical disc, a digital versatile disc (DVD), afloppy disk, and a Blu-ray disc, where the disk generally copies datamagnetically, and the disc copies data optically by using a laser. Theforegoing combination should also be included in the protection scope ofthe computer-readable medium.

In summary, what is described above is merely example embodiments of thetechnical solutions of the present invention, but is not intended tolimit the protection scope of the present invention. Any modification,equivalent replacement, or improvement made without departing from thespirit and principle of the present invention shall fall within theprotection scope of the present invention.

What is claimed is:
 1. A service management method, wherein the methodis applied to a network function virtualization (NFV) architecture, andthe method comprises: generating, by a first network element afterreceiving a network function virtualization (NFV) resource changenotification sent by a virtualized infrastructure manager (VIM), firstconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware; andsending, by the first network element, a first notification message tothe VIM, wherein the first notification message carries the firstconstraint information, and the first constraint information is used bythe VIM to modify NFVI software and/or hardware.
 2. The method accordingto claim 1, wherein before the sending, by the first network element, afirst notification message to the VIM, the method further comprises:receiving, by the first network element, a subscription request messagesent by the VIM, wherein the subscription request message is used tosubscribe to constraint information used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware; and sending, by the first network element, a reply message tothe VIM, wherein the reply message is used to indicate that the VIMsuccessfully subscribes to the constraint information.
 3. The methodaccording to claim 1, wherein the first constraint information comprisesa change identifier of an NFV resource; the NFV resource comprises atleast one NFV resource group, the NFV resource group comprises at leastone basic NFV resource unit, the basic NFV resource unit is a basic unitfor virtual computing, a basic unit for virtual storage, or a basic unitfor virtual communication, the change identifier of the NFV resource iscorresponding to a number that is of a to-be-changed NFV resource andthat is carried in the NFV resource change notification sent by the VIM,and the NFV resource comprises the to-be-changed NFV resource; and thefirst constraint information further comprises at least one piece of thefollowing information: an identifier of the NFV resource, an identifierof the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in an NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, or a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit.
 4. The method according to claim 3, wherein theNFV resource comprises a virtual computing resource, and the basic NFVresource unit is a virtual computing container; or the NFV resourcecomprises a virtual storage resource, and the basic NFV resource unit isa virtual storage volume; or the NFV resource comprises a virtualcommunication resource, and the basic NFV resource unit is a virtuallink VL.
 5. The method according to claim 1, wherein the generating, bya first network element after receiving a network functionvirtualization (NFV) resource change notification sent by a virtualizedinfrastructure manager (VIM), first constraint information used tomodify NFVI software and/or hardware comprises: after receiving the NFVresource change notification sent by the VIM, querying, by the firstnetwork element, for real-time running status data of a virtualizednetwork function (VNF), and generating second constraint informationbased on a virtualized network function descriptor VNFD; and converting,by the first network element, the second constraint information into thefirst constraint information.
 6. The method according to claim 5,wherein the second constraint information comprises at least one of thefollowing parameters: an identifier of at least one VNF instance, anidentifier of at least one group of VNFC instance in the at least oneVNF instance, an identifier of at least one VNFC instance in the atleast one group of VNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinity rulebetween the at least one group of VNFC instance, an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the VNFC instance in each of the at least onegroup of VNFC instance, a minimum quantity of VNFC instances that needto be reserved in each group of VNFC instance in an NFV resourcesoftware and/or hardware modification process, an identifier of at leastone group of virtual link (VL), an identifier of at least one virtuallink (VL) in the at least one group of virtual link (VL), an affinity oranti-affinity rule between the at least one group of virtual link (VL),an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the virtual link (VL) in theat least one group of virtual link (VL), a minimum quantity of virtuallinks (VLs) that need to be reserved in each of the at least one groupof virtual link (VL) in the NFV resource software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of aVNFC instance; the generating second constraint information based on avirtualized network function descriptor (VNFD) comprises: generating, bythe first network element, the second constraint information by using aVNF life cycle management script carried in the VNFD; and theconverting, by the first network element, the second constraintinformation into the first constraint information comprises: converting,by the first network element, the second constraint information into thefirst constraint information based on a correspondence between a VNFinstance and an NFV resource.
 7. The method according to claim 1,wherein the first network element is an NFV orchestrator NFVO, and theNFV resource change notification is received by the NFVO directly byusing the VIM; or the first network element is a VNF manager (VNFM), andthe NFV resource change notification is received by the VNFM directly byusing the VIM, or the NFV resource change notification is received bythe VNFM indirectly by using an NFVO.
 8. A first network element in anetwork function virtualization (NFV) architecture, comprising: aprocessing unit, configured to: after receiving a network functionvirtualization (NFV) resource change notification sent by a virtualizedinfrastructure manager (VIM), generate first constraint information usedto modify NFVI software and/or hardware; and a transceiver unit,configured to send a first notification message to the VIM, wherein thefirst notification message carries the first constraint information, andthe first constraint information is used by the VIM to modify NFVIsoftware and/or hardware based on the first constraint information. 9.The first network element according to claim 8, wherein the transceiverunit is further configured to: before sending the first notificationmessage to the VIM, receive a subscription request message sent by theVIM, wherein the subscription request message is used to subscribe toconstraint information used to modify NFVI software and/or hardware; andsend a reply message to the VIM, wherein the reply message is used toindicate that the VIM successfully subscribes to the constraintinformation.
 10. The first network element according to claim 8, whereinthe first constraint information comprises a change identifier of an NFVresource; the NFV resource comprises at least one NFV resource group,the NFV resource group comprises at least one basic NFV resource unit,the basic NFV resource unit is a basic unit for virtual computing, abasic unit for virtual storage, or a basic unit for virtualcommunication, the change identifier is corresponding to a numbercarried in the NFV resource change notification sent by the VIM, and theNFV resource comprises a to-be-changed NFV resource; and the firstconstraint information further comprises at least one piece of thefollowing information: an identifier of the NFV resource, an identifierof the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in an NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, or a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit.
 11. The first network element according toclaim 10, wherein the NFV resource comprises a virtual computingresource, and correspondingly the basic unit for virtual computing is avirtual computing container; or the NFV resource comprises a virtualstorage resource, and correspondingly the basic unit for virtual storageis a virtual storage container; or the NFV resource comprises a virtualcommunication resource, and correspondingly the basic unit for virtualcommunication is a virtual link VL.
 12. The first network elementaccording to claim 8, wherein the processing unit is specificallyconfigured to: after receiving the NFV resource change notification sentby the VIM, query for real-time running status data of a virtualizednetwork function VNF, and generate second constraint information basedon a virtualized network function descriptor VNFD; and convert thesecond constraint information into the first constraint information. 13.The first network element according to claim 12, wherein the secondconstraint information comprises at least one of the followingparameters: an identifier of at least one VNF instance, an identifier ofat least one group of VNFC instance in the at least one VNF instance, anidentifier of at least one VNFC instance in the at least one group ofVNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone group of VNFC instance, an affinity or anti-affinity rule betweenthe VNFC instance in each of the at least one group of VNFC instance, aminimum quantity of VNFC instances that need to be reserved in eachgroup of VNFC instance in the NFVI software and/or hardware modificationprocess, an identifier of at least one group of virtual link (VL), anidentifier of at least one virtual link (VL) in the at least one groupof virtual link (VL), an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the atleast one group of virtual link (VL), an affinity or anti-affinity rulebetween the virtual link (VL) in the at least one group of virtual link(VL), a minimum quantity of virtual links (VLs) that need to be reservedin each of the at least one group of virtual link (VL) in the NFVIsoftware and/or hardware modification process, and a condition forconstraining migration of a VNFC instance; and the processing unit isspecifically configured to: generate the second constraint informationby using a VNF life cycle management script carried in the VNFD; andconvert the second constraint information into the first constraintinformation based on a correspondence between a VNF instance and an NFVresource.
 14. The first network element according to claim 8, whereinthe first network element is an NFV orchestrator NFVO, andcorrespondingly the NFV resource change notification is received by thetransceiver unit directly by using the VIM; or the first network elementis a VNF manager (VNFM), and correspondingly the NFV resource changenotification is received by the transceiver unit directly by using theVIM, or the NFV resource change notification is received by thetransceiver unit indirectly by using an NFVO.
 15. A service managementmethod, wherein the method is applied to a network functionvirtualization (NFV) architecture, and the method comprises:determining, by a first network element, an object affected by a changeof a network function virtualization (NFV) resource, wherein the objectaffected by the change of the NFV resource is a virtualized networkfunction (VNF) instance, a virtualized network function component VNFCinstance, or a network service NS instance associated with thevirtualized network function (VNF) instance, and the NFV resourcecomprises at least one of the following resources: a virtual computingresource, a virtual storage resource, and a virtual network resource;and sending, by the first network element to a second network element, afirst notification message used to indicate NFV resource maintenance,wherein the first notification message carries identificationinformation of the object affected by the change of the NFV resource, sothat the second network element manages a service in the object affectedby the change of the NFV resource.
 16. The method according to claim 15,wherein before the sending, by the first network element to a secondnetwork element, a first notification message used to indicate NFVresource maintenance, the method further comprises: receiving, by thefirst network element, a first request message that is used to subscribeto an NFV resource maintenance notification and that is sent by thesecond network element, wherein the first request message is used torequest the first network element to send the first notification messagewhen the NFV resource is to change.
 17. The method according to claim16, wherein the first request message carries identification informationof a first object set, and the first object set comprises at least oneof the following objects: a virtualized network function (VNF) instance,a virtualized network function component VNFC instance, and a networkservice NS instance associated with the virtualized network function VNFinstance; and the sending, by the first network element to a secondnetwork element, a first notification message used to indicate NFVresource maintenance comprises: when the first network elementdetermines that the object affected by the change of the NFV resourcebelongs to the first object set, sending, by the first network elementto the second network element, the first notification message used toindicate NFV resource maintenance.
 18. The method according to claim 16,wherein the first request message further carries an additionalparameter, and the additional parameter comprises at least one of thefollowing parameters: event information indicating that the NFV resourceis to change, an attribute of the to-be-changed NFV resource, and a timethat needs to be reserved for processing due to the change of the NFVresource; the attribute of the to-be-changed NFV resource indicates thatthe to-be-changed NFV resource is a virtual computing resource, avirtual storage resource, or a virtual network resource, and the eventinformation indicating that the NFV resource is to change comprises atleast one piece of the following information: NFVI software upgrade,NFVI hardware repair, and NFVI hardware maintenance; the additionalparameter and the identification information of the first object set arecarried in a filter in the first request message; and the firstnotification message further comprises at least one type of parameter inthe additional parameter to which the second network element subscribesand that is corresponding to the to-be-changed NFV resource.
 19. Themethod according to claim 15, wherein after the sending, by the firstnetwork element to a second network element, a first notificationmessage used to indicate NFV resource maintenance, the method furthercomprises: sending, by the first network element to a virtualizedinfrastructure manager VIM, a second request message used to request tomodify NFVI software and/or hardware, wherein the second request messagecarries first constraint information used to modify NFVI software and/orhardware.
 20. The method according to claim 19, wherein the firstnotification message further carries a number of the to-be-changed NFVresource; the first constraint information comprises a second changeidentifier of an NFV resource; the NFV resource comprises at least oneNFV resource group, the NFV resource group comprises at least one basicNFV resource unit, the basic NFV resource unit is a basic unit forvirtual computing, a basic unit for virtual storage, or a basic unit forvirtual communication, the second change identifier of the NFV resourceis corresponding to the number that is of the to-be-changed NFV resourceand that is carried in the first notification message, and the NFVresource comprises the to-be-changed NFV resource; and the firstconstraint information further comprises at least one piece of thefollowing information: an identifier of the NFV resource, an identifierof the at least one NFV resource group in the NFV resource, anidentifier of the at least one basic NFV resource unit in the NFVresource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between the at leastone NFV resource group, an affinity or anti-affinity rule between thebasic NFV resource unit in each of the at least one NFV resource group,a minimum quantity of basic NFV resource units that need to be reservedin each NFV resource group in an NFVI software and/or hardwaremodification process, and a condition for constraining migration of abasic NFV resource unit.